What We've Been Up to in 2-3

Hello 2-3 families,

It was such a treat to see the sun this weekend.  Here is a look at what we have been up to over the last two weeks.

STAGE WRITE
The kids completed their second session of the Stage Write program with Miss Aimee-Lynn.  It is so much fun watching the kids participate in these lessons.  During the first lesson, Miss Aimee-Lynn taught the kids that there are 4 components to performance: Imagination, voice, movement, and feelings.  The kids used these 4 components during a variety of acting exercises.  It is safe to say that I have a crew of performers.  Last week the class continued to practice using the 4 components in their performance.  This week they will be presenting their own poems to Miss Aimee-Lynn and some of those may be chosen to be turned into actual performances.

CONTRACTIONS and POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
During our grammar lessons, the kids have been working on distinguishing between contractions and possessive pronouns.  It is going to take practice, but I am proud of the progress that they are making.  The kids understand that a contraction is when you take two words and shorten them by making them into one word.  The also know that an apostrophe take the place of the letters that were left out in the contraction.  I am really working with the kids to understand the difference between the following possessive pronouns and contractions: your/you're, their/they're, and its/it's.  We'll continue working with these during our reading and writing lessons.

NEW FRIENDS
On Friday 4/25 the kids were introduced to their new friends....our CATERPILLARS!  They will be working on their Arlington Heights unit and Life Cycles at the same time for the next couple of weeks.  While the kids continue to learn about the founding the families of AH and how the train allowed our city to become the bustling place that it is today, they are also putting on their scientific thinking caps and learning all about life cycles.  Each student has their own container containing 2 caterpillars.  They will make predictions, observations, and conclusions about the life cycle of the caterpillar.  By the end of next week, there is a strong possibility that the caterpillars will begin their chrysalis phase.  I will take some photos of our scientists and their new friends this week and share them on the blog.

MATH UPDATE
On Thursday the kids took their Unit 10 math test.  We reviewed this test as a class on Friday.  While I am happy to see the class making such growth in math, there are still some areas I would like to strengthen.  The class is able to successfully identify counting patterns in single, double, and triple-digit numbers.  During Unit 10, we began working with 4-digit numbers.  Over the next few weeks, I will be working with the class to help them continue to grow and feel successful when identifying and writing number patterns in 4-digit numbers.  We will also continue to work on making change, identifying "what's my rule," and using parentheses.  I am looking forward to seeing the kids continue to become more confident in these areas.

PERSONAL NARRATIVES
Our Personal Narrative unit has come to an end and we will be launching our Poetry unit on Monday.  Some students have finished publishing their stories and others are working on completing their final copies.  During this unit the class has worked to understand what writing should be included in the beginning, middle, and end of a story.  They have learned how to write the story of a problem that they faced and the steps they took to solve it.  They wrote beginnings that captured the reader's attention and introduced the "who, what, where, and when" of the story.  Their "meaty" middles introduced the problem and then the steps they took to solve the problem.  In the "exciting" ending, the students wrote about how the problem was solved and how they felt about the resolution.  The students worked hard during each step of the writing process and I enjoyed collaborating with them during our writing conferences.

SPRING MAP TESTING
Over the past two weeks, the kids took their spring READING and MATH MAP tests.  While they took the Survey test in the winter (this one was only 20-ish questions), they completed the full MAP test this spring (40+ to 50+ questions).  The kids worked hard and put their best effort into their tests.  You will receive these results with your child's final report card on the last day of school.

STAR STUDENT and MYSTERY READERS
Don't forget to check out our photo page to see pictures of our Star Students and Mystery Readers!!

I hope you are all having a safe and fun weekend!

- Danielle Porte