Thank goodness this week was a lot less harried!  We able to get back into our routines and really practice those strategies that make us successful students.
Next week is American Education Week.  We are hoping to have Cathy Brenner from the Public Library visit and share some new book series with us.  We hope to unveil our Ant Book and introduce you to some of the math games we play.

Reading:  We are continuing to work on both fluency and expression in our oral reading.  The children are (mostly) independently applying decoding strategies to aid comprehension.  Our reading groups have almost completed our unit on reading and retelling nonfiction texts.

Math:  We completed Unit 4 on repeated addition.  The children have been making arrays and writing the number sentences to go along with them.  They are developing a good foundation for multiplication.  Our computer lab program was Factory Balls.  It is a very difficult logic game.

Social Studies:  We began our US community unit this week.  We have studied the pledge of allegiance and its meaning, discovered the identity and meaning of some national symbols and located some exciting places to visit (Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Rushmore, the Everglades, the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon...)in our country. 

Writing:  We are completing our unit on Personal Narrative next week.  The students have continued to work on magnifying details in their stories while including strong beginnings and endings.  We are also working on revision and editing skills.

For those of you interested, I will be at the Turkey Shoot next Thursday for the 2nd grade section.  Our Book Fair day is Thursday.  Thank you to all of you who have helped at station time.  It is wonderful to have your help and expertise and really allows the children to get more one on one attention.  Have a great weekend.