Recently students celebrated reading comprehension in our computer lab during Pages for Points.  Several students have met very ambitious Accelerated Reading goals.  Many students have even gained over 25 points.  These students are now featured on the Wall of Fame outside of our school library.

As the school year concludes students are writing nonfiction books.  Every student is the expert in a certain field.  For example, some students are writing books about how to be a big brother, or advice for 1st grade students.  These nonfiction books will be sent home next week after students are able to share and present their book to our class.

Summer Reading information will be sent home soon.  Keep the fantastic reading and writing occurring all summer long.

A special thanks to all parents and grandparents involved in making our day possible!

The special exhibit Lizards and Snakes was the best way to end our day.

In addition to our Cloud Logs, students are each creating a Weather Chart this week.  Every morning students add another weekday to their chart, listing the high temperature of that day, as well as a quick illustration demonstrating the type of weather.

We love studying our planet in different ways.  Don’t forget about Disneynature: earth, Friday after school in the auditorium.

 Friday, March 23rd – 3:30-5:00 

We have a special 1st and 2nd grade movie viewing of Disneynature: earth in our school Auditorium.  It is important for all students to attend, since this movie will lead to future conversations and activities.  Parents, siblings, grandparents, neighbors, cousins, and anyone else is invited.  Please ensure that your student is accompanied by an adult.

Friday,  April 27th – 3:20-4:20

Pages for points is our class celebration of reading and AR (Accelerated Reader) quizzes.  It will be important for all students to attend this event in order to share with a family member (parent, grandparent, etc.) to demonstrate both their capabilities on the computer as well as with reading comprehension.

April Field Trip – Date TBD

As a part of our Earth Science learning this year we will visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Friday, May 4th - University Schools Spring Carnival

Wednesday, May 9th - 1st and 2nd grade Spring Music Concert

Tuesday, May 15th - Track and Field Afternoon

Tuesday, May 22nd - Last day of School (early dismissal)

Look closely to see the BINGO markers (candy hearts).

Students were very focused on searching their BINGO grid for the numbers and listening carefully.  What a fun Valentine’s Day math activity!

Last week, 6th grade math students visited our classroom for geometry learning.

These 6th grade students prepared stories inspired by Tangram illustrations.

Once they finished reading their Tangram story to their 1st or 2nd grade partner, our students were able to explore and create their own images from these geometric shapes.

Thanks 6th grade math students!

Sandy is a Spellbinder Storyteller.  She is visiting our class once a month to share stories that relate with our learning.  Next she plans to share biographies.  We love listening to the stories Sandy shares.

This week we have been busy with our Personal Learning Plan (PLP) presentations.  Next week holds Valentine’s Day fun.  I hope that you have fun creating your Valentine’s Day box.  We have a classroom full of very creative students!

We began the New Year with inviting University Schools alumni Millie Schbrieman to return as a guest speaker.  She shared about her senior project, last year, a large painting in our school library (the Cove).  She spent approximately 300 hours and included dozens of popular book characters.  Students were able to ask her many questions.

Yesterday, Miss Rodeo Colorado visited our school.  She shared about the history of the rodeo in Colorado.  All of the 1^st and 2^nd grade students enjoyed her and Miss Rodeo North Dakota’s visit.  These guests were thanks to Trent Johnson (Collin’s dad) of Greeley Hat Works.  He creates the hats for Miss Rodeo Colorado each year.

We also learned about the history of Miss Rodeo Colorado’s crown (on top of the hat).  It represents Colorado with turquoise and was handmade by a Native American artist in the early 70′s when Miss Rodeo Colorado first began.

Do you know which state held the first rodeo?  Colorado!

We learned so much thanks to our guest speakers this month.

During this process 1st and 2nd grade students begin using their reading skills in order to become better writers.

Start – brainstorm the main character, a problem and a solution

Middle – create a book with words and illustrations

Middle – Peer editing

Middle – Conferencing with an adult for final guidance before publishing

End – Publishing (creating a final version of their book with color illustrations)

Instead of a series of steps in a specific order, students make all choices during the process of creating their book.  They decide if they need a conference with an adult (myself or a parent volunteer) while they first form their book.  However, students might wait until the final phases, right before they are ready to publish in order to have an adult assist with last minute spelling corrections, adding commas or other punctuation details.  Writer’s Workshop equips students to be the leaders of their own learning.

Students experience the process of forming an idea, collaborating with friends and ultimately create an end product, a book that each student is proud of.  The best part of Writer’s Workshop is that it is a learner centered activity, instead of a teacher standing at the front of a classroom to teach writing the students will hold a pencil and actively explore the writing process.  Each child chooses when their book is complete, and is then able to begin brainstorming for their next book.

Some students are writing non-fiction.  Others are writing fictional stories.  Some students are writing to inform, while others are writing to entertain.  A few students have developed a “Table of Contents” in the beginning of the book.  Most importantly, all students are excited about reading, writing and creating their book.

Please contact me if you would like to volunteer during this time (9:55-10:45), or if you are interested in stoping by to experience what students are currently exploring and writing about.

We love that our classroom community is full of unique and special students.  Each of us bring something wonderful to our class.

Students have been busy learning about the Civil Rights Movement.  Ask your student what they have learned about leaders such as Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ron McNair and Ruby Bridges.  We have spent a small amount of time on many great leaders.  See if they can share about any of these people who have changed our country, and our schools.

We concluded our Unit on The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.  Have fun exploring his website and discover dozens of other great books written and illustrated by Van Allsburg.

As a class, we acted out the story.

Everyday 1st grade students spend their math hour in our classroom, exploring new concepts and ideas.  The second grade students visit Mrs. Duran’s classroom each day during their hour of math learning.

Recently, 1st grade students concluded a geometry topic, and also explored various pattern structures (AB, AAB, ABB, ABC, etc).

The 2nd grade students have learned about adding two digit numbers, as they discuss the magic box.  Feel free to ask your child about what they have been learning at school.

Great conversations could occur through asking specific questions, such as the following examples:

• What is a new word you learned in Spanish?  What country table do you sit at?  (Argentina?)
• Can you sing me a song from Music?  (“We will Jingle” is a fun one.)
• During P.E., what is your favorite game or activity? (Snakes Alive is a fun game!)
• Who do you typically sit with at lunch?  What is mix-it up day?
• What is your favorite art material Mrs. Carver has let you use this year?
• When you walk into math, how do you begin learning each day?
• Tell me about a book you want to take an A.R. test on?  How many times have you read the story?

Enjoy conversation with your child.

Don’t forget about the learning games and activities on our class website.

We hope everyone has a wonderful time resting during our large break from school.