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We have had lots of fun this week learning about the Pilgrims,
Native Americans, and the first Thanksgiving. All children should be
able to give some details about this event. They have brought home their
stick puppets to help with this retelling. A terrific video on Native
Americans of the Northeast was viewed which detailed information about how these
people lived long ago. Please ask your child to give you an idea of a
game they played (throwing a spear through a hoop, double ball), how they
captured their food (traps, spears, nets), what their homes looked like
(wigwams made from birch bark), and how they cooked their
food. Their costumes from our delicious Thanksgiving dinner are
packed in a plastic bag. Please note that the symbols on
the "deerskin shirt" are true Indian symbols for boy, girl,
sad, happy, snow, rain, spring, summer, day, night, fish, river, bear,
mountain, look, wise, war, peace, and horse. By now you should have
received the game Monster Squeeze. Please play this game with your child
often. If your child is familiar with the numbers 0-10, extend the number
line up to 20. Make sure to use the words smaller or bigger (My
number is smaller than the number you guessed). Introduce the words
greater than or less than and use these vocabulary words interchangeably
with smaller and bigger. We played the game Mystery Teen. I give a
clue and the children guess what the number is. For example, I might say,
"What number is between 13 and 15? or What is
the "teen" with an eight in it? We added new monsters with
crazy hair to our matrix in our discussion of attributes. A new game called Roll and Record was
introduced in math. The student rolls a die and records on which number
the die fell. The game stops
when one number has reached the top of the
game sheet. This paper should be in your child's backpack. Some stories we listened to this week include
Thanksgiving Day, Why Chipmunk has Stripes, Raccoon's Last
Race, Squanto, and Ferdinand. The words "my" and
"look" were added to the word wall this week. In addition to
all the Thanksgiving excitement of the week, we had special 911 training on Thursday.
Perhaps your child can tell you about the video he/she watched. I hope
you all have a peaceful Thanksgiving.
Grade 1F – Mrs. Finethy/Mrs. Haseltine Click HERE for pictures!
Hello and happy Friday before Thanksgiving
break! The class has been busy learning all about the first Thanksgiving and
how tough the Pilgrims really had it. We discussed how the Pilgrims wanted
religious freedom from King James so they left on a dangerous trip on the
Mayflower. The class discussed how little they packed and we had a little discussion
about what we would pack if we were going on a trip to a new land. This was
very interesting! I read the class the book The Very First Thanksgiving
that had a lot of facts about the holiday. Did you remember that 102 Pilgrims
went on the Mayflower and more than half of them died? Thank goodness some of
the Native Americans helped them learn how to hunt and plant crops so the next
winter wasn't so difficult. Besides this we made the turkey decorations for the
lunch tables and the Thanksgiving lunch was fabulous as usual!! In math we
completed the unit assessment, which I will share with you at our conferences
next Monday. We also began Unit 4- Measurement and Basic Facts. We practiced
reading thermometers and also measured different things using nonstandard units
like our hands, feet, bodies and arms. This was a blast!! Then we also compared
our heights and found things in the room that were taller, shorter, and about
the same height as us. We will continue with this unit when we come back from
Thanksgiving. Just a few reminders: Conferences are on Monday and if you forget
when you were scheduled please call the school and
Grade 1G – Mrs. Gehring Click HERE
for pictures!
This
week's read aloud from the perspective taking theme was Ian's Walk. This
book is about Ian, a boy with autism, and his sister. Ian's brain works
differently than most people and he acts differently too. During this story the
student's were asked to think about how Ian and his sister view one another and
the world around them. Perspective taking involves being able to step into
someone's shoes and understand how they think and feel about something. The
main theme of the book is about how when we put ourselves in someone else's
place we can often avoid or solve problems. Ask your child how Julie took Ian's
perspective to solve the mystery of his disappearance. Our new poem this week
was 'The Turkey is a Funny Bird'. At centers we worked on using many different
family pattern words to make new words by changing the initial letter and
enjoyed the listening center story Over the River and Through the Woods.
Over the past two weeks we have been listening to various versions of the
folktale The Little Red Hen. We have learned that folktales have been
passed down orally for many generations and no one knows the original author.
In math we finished unit 3 and took an assessment to see how well we learned the
material. Everyone did great! I will share the results at conferences. We also
looked at dominoes and discovered we can use them to practice our addition
facts. The children are now adding pennies, nickels, and dimes together. For
many it is hard to switch from counting by 10's, then 5's, and then 1's when
adding the coins together. Please practice counting coins with your child at
home. This will be revisited throughout the year. In writing everyone continues
to write stories. We are working on adding more information that will help the
reader to better understand the story. Most students are now able to write one
complete sentence per page of a four-page story. I am encouraging everyone to
add a sentence to each page that further develops the story. This is hard work
for first graders! I also had the children choose their best story to be
published over the break. Then in December the children will illustrate it.
It's always exciting to have a story published. We will then share them with
our buddies. On Thursday we met with our fifth grade buddies and wrote about
what we are thankful for and made turkeys with our handprints. It is wonderful
to watch the fifth graders work with the first graders. What a great group of
kids! On Thursday we also had a special program about 911. We had a great time
on Friday at our school wide Thanksgiving dinner. What fun to see everyone
eating our yummy turkey together and enjoying our first grade table
decorations! Every year the first graders are chosen to make the table decorations
and this year we made paper bag turkeys! Our first graders do have homework
over Thanksgiving break but it is fun homework and will make a nice keepsake.
It is a booklet about what I am thankful for that your family will finish at
Thanksgiving. The instructions and booklet are in your child's folder. Reminder
- please remember your conference time for Monday, the 23rd. If you
have forgotten please call the office to get the time. Thanks! Happy
Thanksgiving!
Click HERE to see pix
Hello! What a busy week! Thanksgiving was a big theme. We shared what
Thanksgiving means to us, read poems and books and even watched a movie about
Squanto and how he helped the Pilgrims. In writing we looked at several
acrostic poems, wrote a Thanksgiving acrostic poem as a class and then the
students had the opportunity to write their own. We had fun with this! Our new
word study focus is on long vowel patterns. The spelling principle is 'long
vowel sounds are usually spelled with 2 vowels'. This week we worked with long
a vowel patterns such as -ay (like in day), -ai (like in rain),
a-consonant-silent e (like in make). We also discussed -eigh (like in eight).
Of course, we have some 'surprise' words that don't follow the rules, such as
they and great. We will continue with the same spelling principle in the coming
weeks, focusing on one vowel and its long vowel patterns each week. We
culminated our spider unit with an informational video about spiders and an
entertaining movie about Anansi the Spider. We also revisited our list of what
we wanted to learn about spiders and determined what we did learn, and what
might require more research. In math, we began unit 4, which focuses on
addition and subtraction. We worked with addition number stories and used
different types of diagrams to help us solve the number stories. We worked with
parts and total diagrams and change diagrams. We also learned 2 new math games
– In Addition Spin, the students use a spinner and spin two 2-digit numbers and
add them together. We are working on different strategies to add 2 digit
numbers together. The other game, Dollar Rummy, focuses on complements of 100.
For example, if I have 60, how many more tens do I need to get to 100? (4 tens
or 40, so 60+40=100). The family letter for this unit went home on Monday. We had a presentation about the emergency
phone number 911. During the
presentation, students learned that an emergency is when someone needs help in
a hurry. They also learned that 911 is
for people emergencies only, not animal emergencies. Justus and Anna even got to practice calling
911! This was to prepare students for
what the dispatcher on the other line would ask and the information they would
need. I've enjoyed the parent-teacher
conferences that have occurred already, and I look forward to meeting with
those of you who are scheduled to meet with me on Monday. It really is nice to
sit and have a conversation with you about your child's progress so far in
second grade. If I haven't met with you yet, I'll see you on Monday! Have a
wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Grade 2S – Ms. Spack
Click HERE to see pix
Grade 3P- Ms. Parise
Dear
Parents and Guardians, I am now writing our class newsletter as I get
plans in place over the weekend. It will be reported as what has happened
but one can never be sure what might transpire. It is with the best
intentions that this is written ahead of time! Our Guided Reading groups began new books
this week. Students are reading a couple of different authors, Roald Dahl
and Dick King-Smith. Both authors write fantasy and are loved by readers.
When we complete Howliday Inn this week, we will be doing a class
read aloud of a Dahl title, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Each student will
have a copy to follow along since the children seem very eager to do this.
You will notice some Literacy homework related to the book once we begin.
The book will also be available in class on audiotape. We have completed Unit 3 in Math. The
post test was today, Friday. The major concepts tested were making
reasonable estimates for whole number addition and subtraction, measuring
to the nearest 1/2 " and 1/2 cm, measuring the perimeters of
polygons, finding perimeter and areas of rectangles, finding diameter,
radius, and close to circumference of circles, describing relationships
between inches, feet, and yards, solving addition and subtraction problems
with money, using data to create charts, graphs, line plots, finding
maximum, minimum, range, and median, and describing events using
basic probability terms. You saw homework related to all of this a couple
of times this week. We will begin Multiplication and Division after
the Thanksgiving Break. Our Content
time has been focusing on the
Grade 3Y – Mrs. Yates
What
a very busy, busy week we have had. We finished up our guided reading
books about the Savannah and animals that live there, finished up Unit 3 in
math, helped make cornbread for the annual New Durham Thanksgiving dinner,
viewed a presentation about Emergency 911, worked on Venn diagrams about
the Arctic and Antarctic, spent time working in the media center on our
endangered animal research and finally enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with our New
Durham community members. Phew! We are all grateful for our families and
friends as we realize how fortunate we are to have each other. As next
week approaches and we have Parent/Teacher conferences, I would like to take
this opportunity to express my appreciation for your time and effort meeting
with me to discuss your child's progress. Have a healthy and Happy
Thanksgiving enjoying time with family and friends. December is around
the corner and that means we will be having the annual Holiday Programs. Third
graders received their scripts this week with their individual speaking parts
highlighted for them to practice. It would be appreciated if someone
would practice with them each day as part of homework.
Grade 4M – Ms. Martens
Grade 5DR – Ms. Duffield/Ms
Richards
Grade 5H – Mrs. Harris
Readers have begun
to explore the genre of Informational Text. We all read a Time For
Kids article about bullying. The follow up activities and discussions were
great. Writers are busy drafting their first memoir. 5H students certainly live
interesting lives-the topics they chose to explore are very interesting. These
are going to be great stories! In Math, we have completed Unit 3, which focused
on geometry. Students prepared a project focusing on a concept they learned to
help reinforce their learning and teach other students. Scientists are in the final
stages of our ecosystem unit. They are working in teams to prepare research
projects investigating different environmental issues. 5H is enjoying the great
conversations about freedom and perspectives while reading Rosetta, Rosetta,
Sit by Me. Ask your fifth grader about this story. The Thanksgiving dinner
was a success, as always! We enjoyed meeting with our first grade buddies to
share some time and ideas about Thanksgiving before the break. Keep an eye on
your mail. You may be receiving an awesome letter from a fantastic fifth
grader! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time away from NDS and the
busy school week schedule. Hopefully families are able to have some “down
time”, rest and relaxation. We all have lots to be thankful for. I know I am
thankful for 5H and NDS!
Grade 6CK– Mrs. Craycraft / Mr. Kiely
Hello everyone. Can you
believe that it is already Thanksgiving? Speaking of Thanks, I would like to
let you know how much we appreciate meeting with you at parent teacher
conferences. It is a pleasure spending time with you and your child to discuss
progress and goals. This week the class has finished the read aloud book, Taking
Sides. While reading this book we have learned and revisited concepts such
as compare and contrast, fact vs. opinion, and character traits. We have also
begun looking at author's viewpoint. This is the idea that authors have
opinions about what they are writing and frequently the reader can determine
the author's opinion because of the tone or direction the story or
informational piece takes. Thinking about viewpoints is another way of looking
at perspectives, our current Voices theme. The ability to think about and
understand the perspectives of other individuals and groups is helpful in
getting along and in solving problems when they occur. There was a vocabulary
quiz this week. Based on the results, and a quick survey of the class, it seems
that many students are not studying daily. Some are successful without doing
so. Others shared that they studied longer periods but less often. When studying
to memorize, it is usually better to chunk the material and study a little bit
at a time. I suggest five words a day. As the days progress, review the words
from the previous day. Students need to know the words to the point of
recognition, for these quizzes. The questions are usually matching or fill in
the blank. The goal is to increase the volume of words that students can
understand in the context of their reading. In writing we are working on 5
paragraph informational essays. So far students have brainstormed narrow topics
by asking specific questions. They have chosen a topic and have done a KWL
chart to figure out what they know and what they still need to know. Finally,
they have begun research and have written a first (very rough) draft of an introductory
paragraph. If your child has access to books on their subject or Internet
resources, it would be great if they could research a bit more, and discuss
their topic with you over the break. The better they understand their topic the
easier it will be for them to write about it in their own voice. Have a great
week off.
Grade 6DR – Ms. Duffield/Ms.
Richards