Back to School!

Hi everyone! I wanted to update you with a blog post as to what's been happening in our classroom since we've returned from break! After a little more than a week of rest and relaxation, we are getting back into the swing of things in our classroom. During our literacy time, we have been continuing our work on independent reading and Daily 5. I have been using this time to re-test each student to find out what reading levels everyone is at. We have some other benchmark assessments which we will be completing in the upcoming weeks. Due to all this assessment, small reading groups will be postponed. Students will still bring a book home each night...they will choose one from their book box instead of taking home a book we read together. Testing should be done within the next two weeks, and we will go back to reading groups as normal. I plan on mixing up the reading groups based on student reading levels as well as specific skills individual students need to work on. In math we are beginning to work on place value. We use base ten blocks to show different numbers and to help us visualize what 10s and 1s mean in each number. So far, we are having fun using the math tools to learn about place value! In science, we will be starting a unit on penguins. We'll learn all about penguins, their life cycle, and their habitat. In social studies, we are currently learning about making New Years Resolutions. After that, we will be talking about Martin Luther King Jr., the Presidents, and Black History Month. We will also celebrate the Chinese New Year in February. Like always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call or email me! Happy New Year!