This particular assignment was about "dreams" and how we can go about achieving them.

The students use the planners to organize their ideas about characters, setting, etc.

We have been using story maps to organize our pre-writing ideas.

We have Physical Education each Wednesday and Friday. The children participate in a variety of activities that facilitate development of gross motor skills, coordination, good listening skills, self-esteem, and positive social interaction. Mrs. Tyms encourages the boys and girls to come to class prepared (gym shoes!) and to always try to do their personal best. She also encourages the boys and girls to put down their video game controllers, turn off the television, and go outside to play catch or ride their bicycles. She encourages the children to make healthy choices, thus establishing a love of exercise and sports that will enrich their lives in the future.

The boys and girls (once again!) did a fine job.

The students were assigned the task of choosing one word (from the class list) that they would like to write and draw about.

We have been compiling a class list of other onomatopoeic words...

We had fun locating these words in the story; examples include pitter-patter, ding dong, and rat-a-tat.

Reading: This week we read a story entitled Max Found Two Sticks by Brian Pinkney. This story features many examples of onomatopoeia, which is the naming of a thing by vocal imitation of the sound associated with it.

We have also been creating and interpreting graphs from data collected and recorded on a tally chart. This particular one shows the number of people who live on streets with names that have 1-12 letters.

MATH: This week we are continuing our work with graphs and charts. We made a Venn diagram to show how many people in our class liked the Cubs, the White Sox, and both the Cubs and White Sox. As you can see, Ms. Prine is definitely in the minority, but she doesn't mind too much!

We enjoyed working on this activity!

The objective of the lesson was for students to be able to consider this question: "Did the order in which things happened in my story make sense?"

This activity was a follow-up to reading Emily and Alice Again by Joyce Champion and Sucie Stevenson.

The students were to write a brief story about something that happened or something they are going to do.

Good writers often use clue words like first, next, after, then, and last to help the reader understand the order of events in the story.

WRITER'S CRAFT: Time-Order Words

AND THE WINNER IS...Who else??? Our class has been learning about graphs and charts. We've been reading various types of graphs (e.g. pictographs, bar graphs) and using terms such as fewer and equivalent. We have collected data about our favorite superheroes and represented this information in bar graph form. The choices were: Spiderman, Bat Man, and The Incredible Hulk, with votes of 5, 6, and 11 respectively.

Many of the boys and girls thought a horse and buggy ride would be "cool".

In Venice some children take the vaporetto (water bus) to school.

Skiing to school is common in some regions of Norway.

Rollerskating with a backpack would be good exercise!

We recently read a story in our basal reader entitled This Is the Way We Go to School by Edith Baer and Steve Bjorkman. This is a book about children around the world and it describes the many different ways they get to school. As part of a follow-up activity the boys and girls chose a character(s) from the story who they would like to meet. It was fun to imagine what it would be like to ski, take a boat, or go to school by radio. Watch this space for the students' writing about this topic...

Open House

Betsy Ross Open House is this Wednesday evening at 6:30 P.M. and begins in the school gym. After remarks from Mr. Milnamow (Principal) and the P.T.O., parents are invited to visit classrooms and meet the teachers. See you there!

The boys and girls also enjoy illustrating their reports; as you can see they do their "best work"! These weekly pieces are saved in book form as part of each student's portfolio.

Each child works at his or her own pace while I (Ms. Prine) conference with individuals who are getting ready to publish.

This activity takes allows the students to engage in all the things writers do--from the initial drafting stage through revising and publishing.

Weekend News...Each Monday the students write and publish pieces about their recent experiences with family and friends. This activity is a continuation of the work the children began in the First Grade.

Classroom Discipline Plan

Classroom Rules:

1. Respect people and property.
2. Raise your hand to speak.
3. Work and walk in line quietly.
4. Follow directions the first time they are given.

If a student chooses to break a rule:

1st Time: Verbal Warning/reminder and name on board

2nd Time: Teacher puts check by student's name on board, student signs name and records rule(s) broken in Behavior Log*, note sent home by teacher to parent that must be signed and returned the following school day, student loses sticker on calendar for that day.

3rd Time: Student indicates in Behavior Log that s/he has broken the rule a third time, student serves lunchtime detention, Official Detention Notice sent home to parent to be signed and returned to school the following day, student loses sticker on calendar for that day.

Rewards:

Praise

Stickers on personal calendar

Positive notes/phone calls home

Tangible incentives from Treasure Chest (treats, toys, pencils, etc.)

Special privileges to be determined on an individual basis

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

All students will receive a calendar that is to be transported between home and school via his or her take-home folder. Students can earn a sticker for each day they do not need to make an entry in the log. Parents are asked to review and sign the calendar entries daily. Children who earn stickers for all school days in any one month earn a special treat or privilege.

Please know that I pledge to be fair and consistent in administering the discipline plan as outlined above. It is my hope that this program will help to ensure that each pupil enjoys a safe, nurturing, distraction-free learning environment.

--Ms. Prine

*The Behavior Log is a spiral notebook set aside specifically for the purpose of recording student behavior and is intended to be used as a learning tool. When students are required to produce a written record of their own behaviors they are more likely to reflect upon poor choices, correct mistakes, and make responsible choices in the future.