We Are Working Hard!

You would be so proud of these little Raiders if you could see them in action!  They have been working so hard all week long!  Here is a peek at just a few of the activities we have been up to!

Sight words are tricky!  We teach our brain these words by seeing them with our eyes (always look at the word), saying it with our mouths (spell it out loud), hearing it with our ears (listen to what we are spelling), and feeling it with our body (here we are writing on our friends' backs to "feel" the word).  First graders are doing an awesome job learning their sight words!

Second grade has been busy working on skip counting.  This is pretty tough to master sometimes, but we have had lots of fun working on it!  Here, partners worked together to sort their numbers and discover a pattern.  Jordan and TJ worked really hard on their set of numbers!

Connor and Caleb teamed up to figure out their pattern....it was counting by tens!

They did it!  Way to go!

For some reason, I didn't get a picture of them, but Graiden and Kadee worked very hard counting by two's.  They had a lot of work to do!  Great job, kids!

TJ and Jordan discovered they were counting by fives!   Fantastic detective work boys!

Third grade has been busy mastering their addition facts.  Here, they are practicing on our new online program called Xtra Math.  They do this for about 6 minutes each day. They are going to have these facts mastered!

These are my amazing first graders!  They are so much fun to work with!  This week we have been learning all about main idea and details in stories!  These boys and girls are really getting it!  We made main idea trees with the main idea of our story this week, complete with leaves that listed details that supported that main idea! 

Third graders love Fridays in my classroom!  We work on a concept all week, and on Fridays we put it into practice during our math stations to see how well we really understand the concept.  This week we have worked super hard on rounding (which can be VERY tricky!).  We ended the week by playing a couple of very fun rounding games.  The students have all improved their rounding skills, and I think that with a bit more practice we will be able to say we have this mastered!

A Great Week!

Hello Raiders!  We have had a wonderful week in Mrs. Berry's and Mrs. Head' classes!  The students have been hard at work and are really engaged in the learning process!  I don't have any pictures this week, as I have loaned my camera out for a few days, BUT that certainly doesn't mean we can't share what we have been up to!  Here are some highlights of our week:

*The first graders have been reading a story called "A Fox and A Kit" and learning all about how a mother fox cares for her kit in the zoo.  The phonics skills we learned about were suffix -s and suffix -ing.  We learned that suffix -s can mean more than one (cats) or what someone or something does (naps) and that suffix -ing means something being done now (working).  The comprehension skill we worked on was main idea.  We learned that this just means what the story is all about.  The highlight of the week was when Mrs. Worden brought in a fox pelt for the students to see.  They absolutely LOVED it! Thank you, Mrs. Worden!

In first grade math we have been learning all about number sense concepts, such as different ways to make a number (6 can be 3+3, 2+4, 1+5, etc.), fewer and more than, and making and recognizing patterns.  Lots of good thinking happening with these students!

*In second grade math we have been working very hard on comparing numbers using place value concepts, rounding numbers, and working with numbers on a hundred chart.  The students have really stretched their thinking!  We have also been practicing out math facts on Xtra Math every day.  The students love it and the consistency it provides is great for the students!  I see that some of you have signed up at home...thank you so much for doing that for your child!

*In third grade math the students have really been pushed to stretch their critical thinking skills.  We have been working on place value concepts up to the hundred thousands, comparing numbers and rounding numbers.  We have been doing lots of partner and group activities to take apart word problems and think critically about the information given and what we need to do to successfully solve a problem.  It is tough work, be we will keep working on it!

Looking forward to another great week in Raiderland!  Thanks to all of our families for the support you give your child each and every day!

Mrs. Berry :)

Meet the Teacher Night

Special thanks to all of the parents, grandparents, and students who were able to make it to our "Meet the Teacher Night!"  We had a great time getting to know you better!  We enjoyed hearing from Mrs. Cathy Ruiz about the Parent Mentor Program and all that it has to offer.  We also learned about classroom routines and tips and tricks to make homework easier at home.  Thanks again to all who attended!

Be on the Lookout!

Hello Raider Families!

Be on the lookout in your child's folder!  We are having a "Parent Night" on Tuesday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m.  It will last no longer than one hour.  We will have cookies and juice for those in attendance.  We will be asking you to return a slip to let us know if you and your child can make it to this fun and informative evening, so please look for that and return it promptly!

We really want our families to feel welcome in our classroom, and we feel like this parent night will help to do that!  We will introduce ourselves, tell a little about our classes and routines, and answer any questions you may have.  Now that we have a few weeks under our belt, you may have some questions about procedures, homework, etc.  We will try our best to answer them!

We look forward to seeing you on the 10th!

Mrs. Berry and Mrs. Head :)