Can you believe it is already OCTOBER! What a whirlwind its been! I feel like it was just yesterday when I had arrived in Dhaka and now I feel at home! Here's what we have been up to and what is coming up in October:
Reading- Students have been working hard during DEAR each day to work toward an individually chosen CAFE reading goal. DEAR is also a time where I meet one on one with students to discuss these goals, practice reading strategies and decide upon future actions. We also introduced RAZ Kids last week. This is a program that students can work on at home (hint-hint) to be sure they are reading at the appropriate reading level as they reach toward their individual reading goals. We will begin Literature Circles in October, which is kind-of like a book club for kids! More to come!
Writing- I do believe 2B is growing into a group of amazing authors! We have been talking about the writing as a process, working on fancying up our writing (Revising/Editing), meeting in small groups to discuss story elements (Setting, Characters, Problem, Solution), and have even begun some buddy writing. 2B students have even created Pre-Kinder Books that they will be sharing with a PK4 Class following break! Our class is full of inspired authors and illustrators! Just wait until you see their published work--coming this October!
Spelling - For three weeks, students worked on their own individual spelling lists. This and other in-depth word study will continue after the October Break. During word study, we wrote rules about when the <C> makes a /K/ or a /S/ sound. We also discussed prefixes, base words and suffixes. Students have been creating rules/definitions for prefixes to help them figure out meanings of unknown words. Following the break, we will be looking at <WH> words. Some say /H/ and some say /W/, but why?? Discuss these topics at home with your kids while we continue to explore words in class!
Math- When people think about math they think about addition and subtraction...and that’s what we’ve been doing! We have started exploring story problems and various strategies that will help us to solve these story problems. We have also practiced our math SPEED during our daily Mad Minutes. We keep a daily log that records how many problems we can do in three minutes. Math Workshop is also an opportunity for us to sharpen our math skills. We are lucky to have Mrs. Sarah working with small groups twice a week to challenge our thinking and number concept skills!
Unit-
We are in the final stages of our Authors and Illustrators unit and will begin our new unit, Changing Cities following the October break! We are sad to say goodbye to our Authors and Illustrators unit, but since we discuss reading daily, there will be plenty of opportunities to continue our investigations. We have explored in depth about the purposes of writing books, reading books, and how illustrators use art to express the story.
Starting after break, we will be exploring the hows and whys of changing cities! Yesterday a letter was sent home to you about this unit and how we’re going to “kick it off”. It would be great if you take an opportunity to discuss the different cities you have visited/lived in over the years. What makes a city? Why did you move to Dhaka (or why have you lived here your entire life)? What makes cities differ from one another? What similarities do all cities share? What better time to discuss these questions, but over October Break!
Welcome Krista!
We have a new student joining the class after the October Break! Krista Hoegh, who attended AISD in the past, will be joining us from Greenland! We can't wait to meet her (and some of us can't wait to see her again!) Hooray for Krista!
Reading- Students have been working hard during DEAR each day to work toward an individually chosen CAFE reading goal. DEAR is also a time where I meet one on one with students to discuss these goals, practice reading strategies and decide upon future actions. We also introduced RAZ Kids last week. This is a program that students can work on at home (hint-hint) to be sure they are reading at the appropriate reading level as they reach toward their individual reading goals. We will begin Literature Circles in October, which is kind-of like a book club for kids! More to come!
Writing- I do believe 2B is growing into a group of amazing authors! We have been talking about the writing as a process, working on fancying up our writing (Revising/Editing), meeting in small groups to discuss story elements (Setting, Characters, Problem, Solution), and have even begun some buddy writing. 2B students have even created Pre-Kinder Books that they will be sharing with a PK4 Class following break! Our class is full of inspired authors and illustrators! Just wait until you see their published work--coming this October!
Spelling - For three weeks, students worked on their own individual spelling lists. This and other in-depth word study will continue after the October Break. During word study, we wrote rules about when the <C> makes a /K/ or a /S/ sound. We also discussed prefixes, base words and suffixes. Students have been creating rules/definitions for prefixes to help them figure out meanings of unknown words. Following the break, we will be looking at <WH> words. Some say /H/ and some say /W/, but why?? Discuss these topics at home with your kids while we continue to explore words in class!
Math- When people think about math they think about addition and subtraction...and that’s what we’ve been doing! We have started exploring story problems and various strategies that will help us to solve these story problems. We have also practiced our math SPEED during our daily Mad Minutes. We keep a daily log that records how many problems we can do in three minutes. Math Workshop is also an opportunity for us to sharpen our math skills. We are lucky to have Mrs. Sarah working with small groups twice a week to challenge our thinking and number concept skills!
Unit-
We are in the final stages of our Authors and Illustrators unit and will begin our new unit, Changing Cities following the October break! We are sad to say goodbye to our Authors and Illustrators unit, but since we discuss reading daily, there will be plenty of opportunities to continue our investigations. We have explored in depth about the purposes of writing books, reading books, and how illustrators use art to express the story.
Starting after break, we will be exploring the hows and whys of changing cities! Yesterday a letter was sent home to you about this unit and how we’re going to “kick it off”. It would be great if you take an opportunity to discuss the different cities you have visited/lived in over the years. What makes a city? Why did you move to Dhaka (or why have you lived here your entire life)? What makes cities differ from one another? What similarities do all cities share? What better time to discuss these questions, but over October Break!
Welcome Krista!
We have a new student joining the class after the October Break! Krista Hoegh, who attended AISD in the past, will be joining us from Greenland! We can't wait to meet her (and some of us can't wait to see her again!) Hooray for Krista!