March 18-22

Happy spring! Maybe?? With the weather changing daily, please send appropriate gear to school! We will help children decide what's necessary to wear at recess time. Depending on the day, they are still allowed to play in the snow so you might want to continue sending boots and snow pants.


Important Dates and Reminders:
March 19 & 21: Conferences- sign up here: https://ptcfast.com/schools/NDLC
March 22: No School
April 1-5: KAT Week (see below for dress up days)
April 1-Alien Day or wear green
April 2-Dress like a "star" (movie star OR star in the sky)
April 3-Dress Unique
April 4-We are out of this world with SMARTS-Dress like a KAT question or cat
April 5-Galaxy Day-each grade can dress like a color from the sky
             Kindergarten will wear blue!
April 5- KAT Celebration Dance (more info to come)


Reading:The nonfiction books have been a huge hit in our room! It's so fun to listen to the students ask questions and share knowledge about the topics they are reading about. This week, we will take that work a step further by asking students to share the information by retelling, acting like a reporter, and having conversations about their books with partners. We will use the following conversation starters to help students carry on with their partner.

• I wonder....
• Maybe...
• I agree/disagree because...

We remind students that a having a conversation is like riding a seesaw; you take turns going back and forth!

Writing: This week writers will work to better their opinion/persuasive writing by using all the strategies they have learned so far.  This is a chart we have been using to draw on elaboration strategies.

Math: Did you know that in order to be fluent adding and subtracting within 5, students need to be able to solve more than 20 equations! An article called "Assessing Basic Fact Fluency" defines fluency as "the efficient, appropriate, and flexible application of single-digit calculation skills and...an essential aspect of mathematical proficiency".  In order to determine if a student is fluent in solving a problem, they must show "flexibility, appropriate strategy use, efficiency, and accuracy". So how do we determine that? Students are given a fact fluency interview where we watch and ask questions about how students are solving equations. It is amazing to see how their brains use the strategies to solve problems!

Social Studies: We will start to build a base for our Self Study inquiry with a read aloud, video aloud, and song. Students will have whole class conversation about the book It’s Okay to be Different by Todd Parr. We will create a class book after watching a video of a poem called, “I am Me!” Here is the link  to the poem. Each student will add a page that says, “No one _____ the way I ____.” Finally, we will create a self-portrait after listening to  the song “What I Am” by Will.I.Am. Here is the link to the song. I am excited for students to start thinking about what makes them special…we know they are!