Acts of Kindness:
At the beginning of December, we started a tally chart on our whiteboard of acts of kindness that students completed in the classroom. We talked about how simple kind acts can really mean a lot to other people. Some examples of acts of kindness in the classroom included helping someone pick up their supplies, allowing your partner to go first in a game, giving someone a compliment, inviting someone to sit by you, etc.
One act of kindness that we completed as a whole class in December was making cards for troops over seas. We worked together with our fourth grade reading buddies in Mrs. Visger's class.
We also made kindness bookmarks that I will be donating to the Poynette Public Library.
Holiday Crafts and Writing:
December is one of my favorite months for writing projects and crafts. One week, we focused on identifying the problem and the solution in stories that we read in class. Students did some writing about the problem and solution in a fun holiday book titled Mooseltoe. After we completed our writing, students made a fun watercolor craft to go with it. I even shot a quick video of them hard at work!
Students also completed a silly job application to become an elf at the North Pole. Then, we made little elf crafts to go with it!
Literacy:
In the month of December, we reviewed all of our short vowel spelling patterns. When we return to school in January, we will learn about blends and digraphs for three weeks. At the end of January, we will begin to learn about long vowel spelling patterns.
Students also learned about the difference between a complete sentence and a sentence fragment. We worked together to correct sentence fragments.
Students began reading and spelling the second trimester snap words during the month of December. A copy of the flashcards came home in your child's puma packet. Please continue to work on these words at home. These words are significantly more challenging than the first trimester words.
Math:
Here are some of the math skills we worked on in December:
- Counting money using dimes, nickels, and pennies
- Number grid counting patterns - adding ten by moving up or down a row
- Applying a rule to a set of numbers (called Frames and Arrows)
- Finding number compliments (e.g. Finding all of the ways to make 7 by adding two numbers together)
Here's a quick look at a few of the fun centers that we completed:
Working on Christmas themed number grid patterns:
Number sequencing practice:
Fun addition pictures:
Geoboards:
Thank you for taking a look at our learning in December! Have a great week!
