Off to Antarctica!

Where in the world do penguins live?!

Life sized Emperor Penguin!

Antarctica was our new destination this week - as far away from the arctic as we could get. We will be learning about penguins that live in Antarctica and other nearby places in the southern hemisphere. We began by creating a lift-the-flap globe with a penguin habitat drawn underneath. We've begun reading non fiction texts about types of penguins, their diet, and their features. Lots more to come!

Look inside our globes!

Our last arctic creation was the 
snowy owl cut out with facts on the back. It is especially 
engaging to see live footage of 
these beautiful birds!

Glittery snowy owls!

We have completed Topic 9 in math and worked on ordering three numbers using the < > = signs between them. We have located numbers on the 100 chart with clues involving skip counting by 2 and 5, and have added 1 more or less and 10 more or less to any number on the chart. A clear understanding of which digit is in the tens place and which is in the ones place, is crucial!

Our persuasive/opinion writing unit has also wrapped up with book reviews telling why someone should read our book, advice given to follow and why, and opinions explained for the fate of an ant. Reading, Hey There Ant introduced us to two compelling points of view (the kid and the ant) and the dilemma of sparing the ant or not... We even acted out the two parts.

Taking the part of the kid or the ant

Fun rhyming text!

Love our reading response books!

In reading groups we have introduced little composition books to reflect on reading, write about a favorite part, and draw a picture. Everyone will have their books by this coming week.

Reading and writing about Walpole the Walrus

One of our reading groups read a book aloud to the class which went along with our Living/Non Living focus in science.

Reading I Am Alive!

How many words will we find?!

In phonics, we have been learning about the spelling pattern of /ee/ so have started a contest to see how many words we can come up with (without using dictionaries or online sources!). We are contrasting them with words with the /ea/ spelling pattern and the 2 lists are very close.

Show & Tell looked pretty professional this week. Take a look:

A hand made gift from his gramma!

Let's not forget the Patriots Super Bowl excitement!

We are the champions!

Coming up next week - Valentine's Day! We decorated bags to hold cards that classmates bring in and they are taped to the backs of chairs just waiting to be filled. (I have extra cards if anyone needs them.) I sent home a class list you can use on valentine cards, and the kids can bring them in whenever they are ready and deliver them in the bags. We will open them on Valentine's Day.

Pick stickers!

Looking good!

Lots of decorations!

Can't wait for the cards!

Our pompom jar is filled and we are ready to celebrate all the compliments we have received in hallways, the lunchroom, and  out and about in the school. On Valentine's Day (Thursday) we would like to show an animated movie about Balto the famous Huskie dog and have a special snack of cupcakes. I will send home a permission slip with the cupcake ingredient list attached to be signed.
Good job everyone!

Very windy out there - hold onto your hats!
Mrs. Dagley