Friday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

This morning we wrote in our journals and reviewed words with -our. We completed our DLP. Then, we wrote poems about pumpkins using opposites. They turned out really well! We also talked about possessive nouns and did a worksheet to review our vocabulary words. We took our spelling and reading tests. The students went to art and music today. In math, we learned how to sequence in order to solve problems. Mrs. Walter's class has math homework and some in Mrs. Bognetti's class have homework. We also took a quiz on double-digit subtraction. In Science, we did something special! We took a trip to the teacher's lounge to do our explore activity on heat. We drew pictures of butter, chocolate and ice before adding heat. Then, we put them in their own saucepans and heated them up! After, we drew pictures to show how the butter, chocolate, and ice changed. At the end of the day, we ate chocolate and read a Time for Kids.

Thursday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

Today we began the day by writing in our journals. Our topic today was, "If a rabbit ate the vegetables in my garden, I would..." The students were coming up with some very creative resolutions, such as building a fence around their garden. We then began literacy by reviewing the word endings, -s, -es, and -ies. We practiced making different words plural by using these endings. Then we reviewed our vocabulary words from our story, Pumpkin Fiesta. We have a Reading test and a Spelling test tomorrow, so the reading books will be sent home with your students. We did our centers today and read with our 4th grade book buddies from Mrs. Walters' class. After lunch, Mrs. Barrett read Harry Potter to the class. In math, we practiced our subtraction. Both, Mrs. Bognetti's and Mrs. Walter's classes have homework. After math we went to the library and then practiced the cursive letter, "h."

Tuesday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

Today we began the day by writing in our journals. Then, Mrs. Barrett reviewed our phonics and our spelling words ending with -s, -es, and -ies. The students have spelling homework. After journals, we began reading our story, Pumpkin Fiesta. Our specials today were gym and the computer lab. After lunch, Mrs. Barrett read Harry Potter to us. In Math, we are learning how to subtract one-digit numbers from two-digit numbers. Both students in Mrs. Walter's and Mrs. Bognetti's classes have homework. In Social Studies, we began writing letters to Washington D.C. We will finish our letters in class tomorrow. Please remember that a blank stamped envelope is due by tomorrow! We have a Science test tomorrow, so everyone has brought their Science books home tonight.

Monday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

We started off today by writing in our journals. The topic today was, "If someone took my ___, I would..." The students were to choose something of value to them and how they would feel if someone took it. This topic prepared us for a short story that we read, called, "The Missing Sunflowers." Then, we introduced our new spelling words and learned about making words plural by using -s, -es, -ies. In Science, we reviewed chemical and physical changes. We have a Science test on Wednesday, so we have sent the books home tonight. We will send the books home again tomorrow too. In Social Studies, we took notes on the Federal Government. We had gym today.

*Please remember to send a blank, stamped envelope with your child by Wednesday.

Friday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

This morning we wrote in our journals, shared, and then reviewed words with -ear. We completed a workbook page. Then, we finished our DLP for the week and took our spelling test. We had one rotation of centers/guided reading today. We went to art and music. This afternoon we took our reading test. Then, we learned how to subtract using a hundreds chart. Both classes have math homework this weekend. In science, we discussed physical and chemical changes. We completed our work in class.

Next week we will have a science test covering matter on Wednesday. We will review next week and send home notes to study as well.

In Social Studies next week, we will be writing letters to various places in Washington, D.C. to request information for an upcoming project. Please send a BLANK, stamped envelope to school with your child by next Wednesday. Thanks for your help!

Thursday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

Today we began the day by writing in our journals. The topic of the day was, "If I was a writer..." The students offered very creative ideas, they would all make good writers. Then, we did spelling and did a worksheet. Following, Mrs. Barrett did a vocabulary lesson to review the vocabulary words from our story, Watermelon Day. After vocabulary, we did an inferecing activity in our Reading books. Then, we completed our centers/guided reading and then we read with our 4th grade book buddies. After lunch, Mrs. Barrett read Harry Potter to the class and then we had math class. We started a new chapter today and will be subtracting two-digit numbers. Mrs. Walter's class has homework, Mrs. Bognetti's class does not. We went to the library and then we learned the letter "b," in cursive today. At the end of the day, we had cupcakes in celebration of a student's birthday.

Tuesday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

This morning we wrote about our favorite fruits in our journals. We talked about inferencing, sequencing, and summarizing. These are strategies we use while we read to make us better readers! Then, we read this week's story, Watermelon Day. We also completed a workbook page on proper nouns; we need to remember to capitalize days of the week and months of the year! We went to gym and learning center. Before lunch, we learned the cursive letter l. We completed our centers/guided reading after lunch. Then, in math, we practiced adding two-digit numbers by two-digit numbers. Some students have math homework. In Social Studies, we learned about the federal government. We read about the three branches of government and watched a video about them. We also made vocabulary cards for the words "Congress" and "President".

Parent/Teacher Conference slips went home today. If a conference is requested, please confirm that time. If a conference is not requested, please confirm if you would still like to come, or if you agree with my recommendation. Thanks!

Friday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

We started today by writing in our journals. The topic today was, "In the summer, I like to go..." Then we reviewed spelling words with gn, kn, and wr, that start with a silent letter. We also introduced new vocabulary and did a vocabulary page in our workbooks. Our specials today were art and music. After lunch, Mrs. Barrett read Harry Potter to the class. In math, we learned how to add two-digit numbers to two-digit numbers. Students in Mrs. Walter's class have homework. Students in Mrs. Bognetti's class do not have homework. In science, we watched a video about the three states of matter. Today was also Celebration Day. Since some students had read a book about the history of popcorn this week, we ate popcorn! They shared some interesting facts about popcorn; including, that it some was found in a cave that was 5,600 years old! We also had cupcakes today to celebrate a birthday. Please remember, we do not have school Monday (1/17) in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Thursday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

This morning we introduced words with silent letters in the beginning like wr-, kn- and gn (wrote, knot, gnat). Then, we completed a workbook page and learned our new spelling words. We completed our DLP for today, talked about writing explanations, and about abbreviating months and days. We completed our centers/guided reading. We had Book Buddies. After lunch, Mrs. Barrett read Harry Potter to the class. In math, we started adding one digit numbers to two digit numbers with regrouping. My class does not have homework, while some of Mrs. Walter's students do have homework. We learned the cursive letters "u" and "w" today. At the end of the day, we went to the library.

Tomorrow is Bear's Day! Either have your child wear a Bear's shirt or blue and orange to support our team and show school spirit!

Wednesday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

This morning we wrote in our journals. Then, we reviewed words with spr, str, and thr. We made tree puppets. On the back, we wrote two facts about trees from our story The Secret Life of Trees to help us review. We had fun sharing our facts through our puppets. We took our reading and spelling tests. We were also screened for vision and hearing today. The children had music class today. In math, we learned to add using regrouping. We do have one page of math homework. In science, we reviewed solids, liquids and gases. We completed a word sort; we put liquids in one column and solids in another. Then, we completed a worksheet in class.

Tuesday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

We began the day by writing in our journals. Today the students were prompted to choose their own topics and some very interesting and creative topics were chosen. Then, we reviewed fact versus fiction based on book titles. We completed a workbook page together. We also finished DLP questions 9 and 10. We used our world wall words to write analogies. The students then completed a worksheet to review capitalizing holidays. They finished the worksheet in class. After that, they re-read our story, "The Secret Life of Trees." I will be sending the reading books home tonight because our reading test is tomorrow. They also have a spelling test tomorrow. Our specials today were gym class and computer lab. In social studies, we discussed and took notes on state government. In math, we worked on adding double-digit numbers. There is math homework tonight for both Mrs. Bognetti's and Mrs. Walter's classes.

Monday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

Today we began the day by writing in our journals. The journal topic today was, "In the fall, leaves..." We also worked with partners today to complete a comprehension packet about our story, "The Secret Life of Trees." The comprehension packet was not homework. Today we also got new nametags. January means a fresh start and learning to write in CURSIVE! The nametags feature the student names in cursive but I have instructed the students not to practice writing their names until we have learned all the letters as a class. This is important because there are many variations of cursive writing and I do not want them to develop bad habits early on or become confused. The first letter that we learned in cursive was the letter, "i." We discussed the proper way to tilt their paper based on whether they are left-handed or right-handed. We also learned how to slant our letters and make sure that we start the letters at the bottom of the line. In science we discussed the three states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases. We also defined mass and used a balance scale to compare the mass of different objects in the classroom. The students had fun making estimations and then checking to see if their guesses were correct. In math, we learned about adding two-digit numbers. Mrs. Walter's class has homework and most of Mrs. Bognetti's class has homework. I also sent home a new math facts packet. Students should use their independent time and time at home to complete the packet. I wrote a parent note on the front that states the packets will be due on January 24th. Please work on the math facts packet with your child whenever there is free time, working on a few problems at a time, rather than finishing the whole packet at once. In social studies, we discussed state government and the role of a governor. We completed an activity that I collected in class. We ended the day with gym class.

Thursday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

Today in class we wrote in our journals "Roots of a tree are..." We got very good entries; the students are all doing a good job recognizing the characteristics and jobs of roots and trees. The students completed a worksheet during spelling. We also reviewed our vocabulary words though a Power Point presentation. We completed DLP 7 & 8, as well. We read with our 4th grade book buddies. In math we continued to work with regrouping and discovered that there are many different ways to make a number with tens and ones. The students were excited to participate and seemed to grasp the lesson. They had fun working on an in class assignment with partners. Students from both Mrs. Walter and Mrs. Bognetti's classes have math homework. I am sending home the reading books for the students to re-read, The Secret Life of Trees. Our reading test is not until next Wednesday, but I am encouraging the students to read the story with you this evening so they do not have to take their books home over the weekend. (I will be sending the books home again next Tuesday in preparation for the test). The students also have a scavenger hunt worksheet to complete for homework and should use their reading books. At the end of the day, we went to the library.

Please remember: Tomorrow is an early dismissal day at 12pm.

Wednesday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

This morning we reviewed words with -oo and used them in sentences. We completed a spelling activity that I collected in class. We reviewed our vocabulary words and finished reading the rest of The Secret Life of Trees. We completed our DLP and our guided reading/centers. After music class, we learned more about our local government. We also watched a 2 minute video clip on the jobs of the local government. We also took some notes about it on a tri-fold. This afternoon, we read some of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Then, in math we started to add double-digit numbers by double-digit numbers using tens and ones blocks. Some lightbulbs were turning on! The students actually had fun adding! Both classes have math homework. Then, in science, we learned more about matter. We drew pictures of matter and listed properties about it. We also watched a movie showing examples of it to help get our ideas flowing. The students do have one page of science homework.

Tuesday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

This morning we reviewed words with -oo. We completed a word scramble in class. The students have one page of spelling homework for tonight. We also talked about facts vs. fiction. We talked about what we know and what we want to know about trees. We are reading a non-fiction book about trees this week where we can find the answers to some of our questions. We introduced our reading vocabulary words and completed a workbook page using them. Then, we started reading the story The Secret Life of Trees. We completed our DLP and a worksheet on capitalizing names of holidays, too. This afternoon, we completed our centers/guided reading. Then, in math we worked on adding using regrouping. We took some ones, added some more and then regrouped to make tens and ones. The students all have math homework. In Social Studies, we read about the local government. We talked about how towns and cities have a mayor, and people who live in the town are called citizens. We made three vocabulary cards and finished the day by reading a Time for Kids magazine about inventions in 2010.

Monday in Mrs. Bognetti's Room

This morning we talked about words with -oo sounding like "zoo". We clapped out syllables using those words and completed an activity in class. We introduced our spelling words. Note: We will not be having a spelling test this Friday, but will take the test next Wednesday instead, along with the reading test. We finished our two sentences of DLP and talked about capitalizing names of holidays. We completed our centers/guided reading for today. Then, in Science, we started a new unit on matter. We talked about solids, liquids, gases and properties of them. We completed our lesson outline in class. This afternoon, we started Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In math we started regrouping. On the homework, I told the children to use M&Ms or pieces of cereal or pretzel sticks, paper clips, anything that can stand for tens and ones to help them. Each class had homework. In Social Studies, we started a new unit on government. We cut apart our vocabulary cards. Some students are in need of scissors! Please ask your child if he/she needs supplies. We also completed an activity together on main idea and details. At the end of the day, the children went to gym class.