Oh What a Week in 2-3!

Hello 2-3 Families,

It may have been a shortened week, but the kids sure worked hard!  Take a look at what we have been up to.

COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE WORD ENDINGS
During our reading instruction this week, the kids learned about the difference between comparative and superlative words.  A comparative word ends in -er and compares two things.  For example, Mrs. Porte is TALLER than Mia or Lauren's dog, Cocoa, is BIGGER than Hua.  A superlative word compares three or more things and ends in -est.  For example, Connor is wearing the BRIGHTEST shirt of all the students.  We will continue working with these word endings this week.

WRAPPING UP PERSUASIVE WRITING
On Friday, the kids presented their cereal box designs and letters for the CEO of General Mills to their classmates.  I will be sending the letters and a class photo to Mr. Powell to show him what creative future marking geniuses he may have working for him one day.  Throughout this writing unit, the kids have learned that when writing a persuasive piece, they need to think about the audience they are trying to persuade and make sure they provide reasons that support their opinion.  Next week we will begin our biography writing unit.

FRACTIONS 

This week, the class took their Unit 7 math test.  Some of the skills that the kids were tested on included the brand new topics of median and mode.  While Unit 8 in Everyday Math focuses on fractions, I will still continue to practice a variety of subtraction, median, and mode exercises with the students to help further develop these skills.  You all received the Unit 8 math letter this week which provided an overview of what to expect during this unit.  We will focus on understanding what a fraction is, identifying the numerator, denominator, and equivalent fractions.  

ROCKS

The geologists of 2-3 are hard at work learning about rocks.  This week, they were visited by Miss Melissa from High Touch High Tech.  This hands-on exploration event took the kids' understanding of rocks to the next level.  The class was thrilled to take home their very own bag of gemstones that they gathered during their exploration.  In class, the students have begun working with their scientific notebooks to make notes about their observations during our classroom activities.  We will continue working on rocks until spring break!

VARIETY SHOW
I am so proud of the kids for doing an awesome job in the Variety Show on Friday.  I appreciate all of the support I received from everyone when I presented this idea in November.  Lucas and Connor, you two also did an AMAZING job with your solo performances!  Did you enjoy the staff number?!?! I owe a big THANK YOU to my husband, Jeremy, for making the "Dryden Dolphin Style" idea come to life.  We certainly have a very talented group of kids that go to Dryden!

 MYSTERY READER
Thank you Mrs. Neri for being our Mystery Reader on Friday!  She brought two wonderful books with  great messages to read to the kids.  Check out our photo gallery for pictures from this visit.

CAREER DAY!
This past Friday was Career Day and several students in our classroom dressed the part of what they would like to be in the future.  We had a vet, a chemist, a geologist, the future FIRST female Tour de France winner, a rockstar, a doggie daycare owner, a hockey player, a basketball player, a football player, a comic book writer, and a couple DJs!  Such a fun spirit day!!

- Danielle Porte