Coordinates, narratives and government....Oh my!

Hi Folks,

           Thank you to all who came to Open House on Tuesday.  It was a pleasure getting to meet many of you and talk about our upcoming year.
          This week has been busy as we have adjusted back into our routines! In math, we began thinking about patterns between corresponding terms and representing ordered pairs on coordinate grids.  The kids LOVED the coordinate grids, and especially liked creating maps to show locations.  In our math workshop, we continued to practice multiplication as well as solving and writing numerical expressions.  Below I have included some pictures of our math workshop!
           Students were also assigned a small project to demonstrate their understanding of the Order of Operations.  The kiddos seemed excited about these projects!!
           In reading this week, we began our first set of Guided Reading Groups.  The students were excited about the new books and eager to read them.  We have also began our first Chapter book read aloud entitled Home of the Brave.  This book is about a refugee from Africa who comes to America to escape the war in Sudan.  He must learn to adjust to his new life.  This book is beautifully written in verse, and the poetic language delicately touches on tough world issues.
          In writing, we have begun our narrative unit.  This year, we are allow students to either choose between a personal narrative or a realistic fiction narrative.  Many students have been writing stories that are realistic fiction or embellished stories.  I am so pleased with the motivation and engagement I have seen during our writing time, and I am more excited to read the amazing stories they produce in the weeks to come!
         In social studies we began our unit on government.  We began with a simulation on how the 3 branches of government work together to pass a law.  Ask your child about how a law is passed! We then have begun doing some readings about the government and will continue those next week!

Please enjoy some pictures from the classroom as well as a few gems from NC!
   
Have a nice 3 day weekend!

Ms. Phillips