November 1 and 2

Hello families of the amazing children in Room 73.  I am so happy to be back at school.  I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with the students in this class and how well they have adjusted to my return.  I will be writing in this blog 4-5 times a week.  Please check daily for updates about what is being accomplished in our classroom.

For those who do not know me my name is Karen Sloane.  I have been teaching for the past 13 years and have been at Cranston since it opened in 2010.  I currently live in Okotoks and am the proud mom of 2 beautiful girls ;Makenzie who is 6 and in grade 2 and Morgan 5 and is kindergarten.  

Here is what we are going to be working on for the next few weeks.
Math:
- creating 3 digit numbers and writing them in expanded form.  i.e.) 345 = 300+40+5.
- adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers 
- adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers

Please work on the basic facts with your child.  They need to be able to recall addition facts to 10 and corresponding subtraction equation that goes along with it.

Writing:
- we are working on writing post cards/thank you letters to soldiers and then we will progress to writing stories from a different perspective.  Students will write stories from the perspective of a soldier at war.

Reading:
- we are working on using personal strategies to read unfamiliar words.
- we will be working on developing comprehension strategies and then right into literature circles

Inquiry:
- we are finishing up a google slides presentation that the students started a few weeks ago.  They have been studying a number of different countries and are representing what they have learned on google slides.

My goal for this week is to improve our ability to work in a group.  Here is how I would like to see all families contribute to this goal.  Please post your answers in the comment section of this blog to this question:  What do I need to do to work well in a group and be a successful learner?

We have talked about what a successful learner looks like.  Here are some of the ideas we have come up with for our classroom work time.  Students will use a quiet voice, stay on task, get started quickly, choose a good learning spot, work the whole time and stay in one spot.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me at klsloane@cbe.ab.ca.