Learning To Go Mr. Avery's Class on the Web 

Fall Festival is arriving! To get in the spirit, all are invited to wear country/western gear to school that day. Reminder: no weapons, makeup that needs applying here, or clothing that needs to be changed into/out of at school. On the other hand, plaid, denim, boots, hats, vests, bandanas–they’re A-OK!

After a morning of crafts, stories, and songs, we’ll be treated to a performance by local artists Chuck and Mud and Peter Allard in the afternoon! We’ll also be treated to a viewing of scarecrows made by several classrooms at school (I didn’t receive donations for us to make one, but no worries–our day will be plenty ‘fun-filled’!).

At math time this week, students will be learning the fine points of regrouping when subtracting, across the tens and hundreds (think 213 – 156). They will be working with base ten blocks to model the process and show understanding. They will be showing it another way by drawing base ten pictures (squares for hundreds, etc., like on homework). And they will finally learn to “cross out” the number in the tens and hundreds place to regroup–what we used to call “borrowing”. The difference between how we learned it years ago and how it’s taught today is that we’re making sure students have a real sense of the numbers involved and what the process of regrouping is really all about. In your homework packet in the center I have included a step by step picture guide so you can help your child at home if they need it. Whether they do or not, it’s always wise to ask them questions: How many hundreds/tens/ones are in that number? Will you need to regroup? How do you know? Does your answer make sense? Could you prove it another way?

Students will also be taught to use addition to check subtraction. This means to do the operation in reverse. For example, to check that 213-156=57, students must add 57 + 156 and do the math (e.g. not simply write 57 + 156 = 213). Since addition is always easier for us humans than subtraction, this is an effective means of checking accuracy. On the homework, it asks students to “Show how to check your work with addition.” They should be showing their regrouping as they did all through chapter 2.

A great way to practice regrouping in the 10s and 1s is to play Funny Numbers at Greg Tang Math (choose “Base 10” and the operation “-“). Notice in the example above: you can regroup by taking 1 ten away from 3 tens and moving it into the 1s column. 3 tens and 4 ones is the same as 2 tens and 14 ones. Now the problem is easier understood and we’re not just crossing out the “3” and making it a “2”–which is too abstract a concept for most young kids to hold in their heads.

 

And speaking of Greg Tang Math, once per season the website offers a chance to win one of his books by playing math games using a game board. Kids complete the game board by playing the games required, then return it in 2 weeks. I’ll enter all kids’ names in the drawing for the book, and every kid gets a certificate of accomplishment who returns the completed game board. Of course this is completely optional, and you may want to use it instead of the “Optional Challenge” pages in the math homework folder.

 Our CAFE reading focus this week is on Fluency. Fluent reading means that the rate of reading aloud matches a person’s speaking or storytelling rate; that the reader uses long phrases instead of choppy short ones or word-by-word; and that key words in the sentence are accented. Think about this example: When an octopus loses an arm or leg, it can grow another one. Fluent readers (like you) would read to the comma, probably take a breath, and continue until reaching the period. This shows you know how to sound out, decode words, and anticipate the words coming up. In addition, you would accent the words octopus, arm or leg, and another. This shows you understand what you’re reading and what the author’s important points were. It’s because it encompasses so many fine points of reading, that students are graded on fluency at report card time. For more info, see Reading Rockets–a great source for everything reading!

Students are being taught the ins-and-outs of Informative Writing. This genre of writing requires students to organize statements of fact around a main idea, to give examples to evidence their thinking, and to present their argument logically in order. As before, targeted writing lessons will be given to students to improve clarity; run on sentences; upper/lowercases; punctuation; and editing.

In Social Studies, students are learning the big ideas about maps, namely: maps show places; and maps use pictures, a compass rose, orientation, scale, labels, and symbols. We will build a 3-d model of our classroom to investigate orientation, scale, and a sense of space. Then we’ll move to the representational stage and create maps of our room and playground using photographs. There are lots of online learning games to help teach and practice these skills, like this one at National Geographic. In addition, we use Google Earth (requires download) all the time to match places relevant in our learning to our actual geographic location. I highly recommend it!

Our science work this week centers around habitats. After learning what living creatures need for survival, we turn our focus to frogs and what things specifically are needed for their habitats (quiet water, protection from predators, food supply, etc.). Here’s a perennial favorite to help us learn about habitats at Floral St.!

Source: VickyDTM via Youtube.com

What a great trip! Our field trip was a big success. Thank you for your preparation ahead of time: all the kids were here on time, with lunches, and ready to go! Special thanks to our chaperones Farah Riaz, Sarah Badry, Amanda Csank, Michelle Taupier, Latha Prakash, Hymavathi Avadhuta, and Lisa Powers. They kept our kids engaged, safe, and happy. And kudos to our class for being great models of expected behavior all day! We will follow up our field study by analyzing the economics seen in action at OSV, and creating brochures for consumers.

Fall Festival is coming on Friday, October 30! As an alternative to Halloween, Floral classrooms engage in fun activities centered around autumn, culminating in an all-school celebration at day’s end. I need 4 parents to come in that morning from 9:30-11:00 to run activities which will be set up for you. If you’d like to volunteer, please contact me: kavery@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

Classrooms across Floral will be creating scarecrows for display outside the front of the school on the 30th! I need donations of old clothing, grownup-sized, to create ours. If you can help, please signup online at: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/60B0C4DADAD2FAB9-scarecrow  and send in donations no later than Friday the 23rd. For details inviting parents to view the scarecrows, see Mrs. McCubrey’s Falcon Flyer.

To further get in the spirit, grownups will be dressed in country/western gear on the 30th. Students are invited to do the same (jeans, boots, hats, whatever). Please no weapons (just a good rule in general at school, no?) and nothing kids have to change into/makeup to apply/etc.

In the classroom, students will have some fun making fall crafts, designing pumpkins to be used in descriptive writing lessons, and learning about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), celebrated by many South American and Mexican American families (more at http://www.celebrate-day-of-the-dead.com/day-of-the-dead-facts.html).

Some notes on homework:

I appreciate the diligence with which families are completing homework assignments. They are intended to review and extend the learning here; however, they shouldn’t be a hardship. With the broad range of learners in our classroom, one size will not always fit all. If you find that a math assignment is taking your child well beyond 20 minutes to complete, you can stop and make a note on the homework, with due diligence served. I’ve communicated the same message to students, and I trust you know best when your child is really stuck and when s/he is merely not engaged. Math assignments will be a bit shorter once math facts practice is added to the list in a few weeks.

I’m encouraged by the excited response of students to RAZ Kids reading! For homework, they can use books from their “Assignment” or from the “Bookroom” that are on their level AND that are at 1 or even 2 levels below their level. I don’t in any way want to discourage reading via the website, but just be aware that finishing a level quickly may mean moving up before students are ready for harder reading (e.g. RAZ provides reading practice but doesn’t teach reading). Therefore, I recommend a book per night vs. several books at once.

A brief update on learning (I know, my blog posts are long at this time of year, but they’ll shorten up soon!): Guided Reading groups begin in earnest this week, with students reading at their individual levels. All students will be coached in making connections, monitoring for understanding, and using fix up strategies, while different groups will be introduced to summarizing, learning new vocabulary, and using features of nonfiction text. In writing, students have been taught to use elements of Opinion Writing to create short pieces that include and introduction; opinion; reasons to support their ideas; and a conclusion–all while working on writing in complete sentences, with correct upper/lower cases, and punctuation. Next we’ll take the same approach with Informative Writing, supporting ideas with facts. In math, students will be learning to regroup with addition in the ones and tens places using pictorial representations to show place value (squares for 100s, lines for 10s, and dots for 1s). This is a great way for kids to show their work on homework! And in science, we will compare and contrast characteristics of living/nonliving things and identify qualities of habitats as we begin to explore frogs and their life cycles.

 

 Our Field Trip to Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) is upon us! We leave Friday at 9:00. Please send in lunch with your child, in a completely disposable container (e.g. no metal silverware or Tupperware that you want returned). Please, no nuts: there isn’t a “no nuts” table in the lunchroom there. We will return at the end of the school day and eat snack then, so you can send that as usual. Also please dress your child comfortably in layers. In case of rain, raincoats are always preferable to umbrellas. <“) If you drop your child off at school in the morning, please plan so that your child is here by 8:45. I know, there are a lot of details–but it will help our day run smoothly so we can focus on the fun learning to be had there!

In particular, we’ll be observing and analyzing economics from a historical perspective. We’ve been learning in class what goods are, and to distinguish between want and needs. We will learn this week the difference between goods and services, and where to find them in our community. We’ll bring this to bear during our walk through OSV, and introduce students to the importance of consumers and producers to  the economy of a community. Students will then “produce” a “good” (toy; art; print) from long ago in activities led by OSV’s education staff. Try taking a virtual tour at home by using their interactive map with your child: https://www.osv.org/village-map

Note: because of the short week, sandwiched between holiday and field trip, there will be no spelling homework/quiz this week.

Fall Festival is coming on Friday, October 30! As an alternative to Halloween, Floral classrooms engage in fun activities centered around autumn, culminating in an all-school celebration at day’s end. I need 4 parents to come in that morning from 9:30-11:00 to run activities which will be set up for you. If you’d like to volunteer, please contact me: kavery@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

RAZ Kids is ready to go! Please see the note that will come home on Tuesday. It provides information on the site and you’ll find your child’s password attached. Students may begin using it Tuesday night for homework or just because it’s fun and smart. To get started, click the button on the right menu of our blog under “Student Resources,” and type “kaveryf” in the teacher name box.

This week’s math homework introduces students to 3 strategies to help them add and subtract within 20 fluently (e.g. mentally or quickly, without counting up or back). Tuesday I’ll be sending home a sheet protector with a packet that shows the strategies and encourages practice.

The first strategy, Make 10, takes advantage of the fact that kids already know that 10 + a number makes a “teen” (e.g. 10 + 6 = 16). They know this without counting on their fingers. We use that to help them add 2 numbers in their heads–but first we have to make one of those numbers into a 10. Example: to add 9 + 3, look for what makes 10. 9 + 1 makes 10, so break the 3 into 1 and 2. Add the 1 to the 9, and now it’s 10. Then add the 2 to it and we have 12. Watch this video I’ve made with all 3 strategies: Make 10; Doubles; and Using Number Bonds (it’s Make 10 using subtraction).

For additional practice, use the game Break Apart at GregTangMath.com. For the Make 10 and Doubles strategies, choose “Addition,” select which strategy, and choose easy to start (then hard later). For Using Number Bonds, choose “Subtraction,” and Make 10. For students working at higher levels, continue on to Make 100, and Partial Sums/Differences (requiring one of steps to be done without filling in boxes). Notice how the game prompts students to use the strategy, as in this example that uses the 9 + 3 = 12  fact I used earlier: This week we will also learn to add 3-digit numbers by combining the ones, tens, and hundreds. Students will be introduced to “regrouping in the ones place.” When they add 127 + 136, for example, they will be physically combining 7 and 6 ones and trading in for a ten and 3 ones. It is especially important that kids solidly understand the concept of trading before being taught to “carry the 1.” Try using the base ten block pictures and the base ten mat in the homework packet when doing problems on this week’s homework. Alternately, you could put the base ten mat in the sleeve protector and your child could use a dry erase marker for drawing dots (ones), lines (tens), and hundreds (squares) to prove hisorher thinking.

Sorry for the italicized text–there’s a glitch with the text editor we’re working out. <“)

Here’s us practicing our 3 minute Yoga for focus and emotional security!

Thanks, everyone, for the great turnout Thursday night! I especially appreciate your generosity of spirit as you worked cooperatively to wrestle with some of this year’s big ideas in learning. You demonstrated our core values well and provided excellent role models for your kids. They were beaming when I recounted our work together–they’re proud of you, too!

 We now have enough chaperones for our field trip. Thanks to all who offered. I’ll send home a page with our itinerary, expectations, and tips to chaperones next Tuesday. Chaperones should plan to arrive at school no later than 8:45 on the morning of the 16th.

Fall Festival is coming on Friday, October 30! As an alternative to Halloween, Floral classrooms engage in fun activities centered around autumn, culminating in an all-school celebration at day’s end. I need 4 parents to come in that morning from 9:30-11:00 to run activities which will be set up for you. If you’d like to volunteer, please contact me: kavery@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

I’ve just received word that the Think Central (Math in Focus) website is now ready for parents. You can link to it via the button under Parent Resources in the upper right corner of this blog. Your child’s username and password can be obtained using your Power School Parent Portal. For more directions, click here ThinkCentralParentLogin  For directions on how to access your info using Power School, please refer to Mrs. McCubrey’s Falcon Flyer sent out today.

I briefly showed you the Student eBook on Thursday, which shows you in pictures and words what is being taught during each lesson, and how it’s being taught. This resource is especially helpful for homework when the unique way in which Math in Focus presents its math curriculum can lead to confusion for those of us who learned it differently. To access the eBook, go to the “My Library” section once logged into Think Central. Click on “Student Edition, G2,” and select “Book A.” We’ve just finished Lesson 4 of Chapter 1, which you can easily navigate to via the “contents” tab.

A further note on math homework: Please DO check your child’s homework when it’s finished and point out errors, especially when they are simply not following the directions.

This week, Reading and Spelling homework begins.

Reading The goal of reading at home is to instill a lifelong habit of reading for fun and for informative purposes outside of school or work. In addition, our young readers can benefit from practicing the reading skills and comprehension strategies taught at school. The amount of time spent on reading homework will vary depending on both the level and the length of the books. Students at levels below 18 may spend less than 20 minutes reading, while those at 20 and above may spend at least that long.

In any case, students will bring home one or more books each night, Monday-Thursday. Their job is to read; fill in the reading log each night (sent home each Monday); return the book(s) the next day; and bring other books home the next night. On the last day of the week, parents sign the bottom of the log and the student returns it for credit.

Some notes:

1. If your child loses the log, simply have him/her write down dates and titles on any paper. Still sign it on Friday.
2. It’s important that students read and record the book each night. One night of reading for 1 hour per week doesn’t help them meet the goal above. Please check that they’re following the expectation until they’re independent with this routine.
3. Although you don’t need to listen to him/her read, it’s a great idea to check in with your child by asking them to answer comprehension questions about what they’ve read (see Curriculum Night packet).
4. Students reading chapter books needn’t finish them in one night (think The Magic Treehouse series). Instead, they should write down chapters or pages read in 20 minutes. One chapter book may provide several night’s reading (which is authentically how adults read!).
5. If your child forgets or misplaces a reading book, simply have him/her read something from home or using online resources such as National Geographic for Kids.

Spelling Students will be taught grade 2 phonics in daily lessons this year. The spelling lists sent home are meant to provide additional practice. Each Monday, students will bring home 10 words. There are 3 lists to choose from, each using the phonics rule at different levels of challenge. Students will circle the appropriate list in class before bringing it home. In an effort to build confidence, most students will be asked to learn the basic level words at first. The list, and any study aids made at home, do not need to be returned to school. Students will be quizzed on the words on the last day of the school week (Thurs. this week). It’s recommended students spend 5 minutes a night practicing (with more/less depending on need).

Tips for learning words:

1. Copy the words onto cards/paper squares to use as flash cards.
2. Close your eyes and visually spell them in your mind repeatedly.
3. Practice writing the words a few times each or until correct the first time.
4. The TeachMama blog has some easy, creative, and fun ideas for learning spelling words!

As always, hit me with any questions if I can clarify!

Here’s us improving our FOCUS through Yoga; working on fluency and comprehension at Read to Others time; and mastering number comparisons at math time.