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.