"Believing
in
Achieving"

Health Office:
203-245-6452
(Absences before 9:00 am)
School Hours:
8:50 a.m.- 3:25 p.m.

CREATIVE WRITING TECHNIQUES

A sense of suspense and anticipation is what hooks the reader and moves a story into the main event. Students practiced a variety of ways to build suspense or anticipation:

Story Questions- the main character raises a question, wonders or worries about something.

Word Referents- Not revealing what “it” is immediately. Instead we use descriptions or word referents.

The Magic of 3- using our senses to give hints

Red Flag Words- transitional phrases help to move the action forward in a suspenseful way. Students also practiced using these creative techniques to help them elaborate their main events:

• Using the 5 senses
• Descriptions that make you feel right there!
• Using specific rather than general details
• Sentence variety

LANGUAGE ARTS

Reviewed phonics rules such as:

• All long vowel spellings
• Vowel r - ar, or, er, ir, ur
• oo sounds
• ou & ow
• oi & oy
• au &aw
• plural s, es, drop the y
• suffixes ed, ing (doubling the consonant and dropping the y

Practiced Comprehension strategies through read alouds and in guided reading books

• Main idea & theme
• Setting, Characters, Problem & Solution
• Predicting
• Compare & Contrast
• Connections
• Fact & Opinion

MATH

Adding & Subtracting 2 Digit Numbers Learning Expectations:

• Use the “make ten” or “use ten” strategy to add
• Write a family of related facts, and use the “think addition” strategy to subtract
• Adjust an addition or subtraction sentence to help add or subtract related numbers
• Recognize, describe, and extend number patterns
• Add and decompose two-digit multiples of 5
• Add or subtract and two-digit multiple of ten and another two-digit number

Money, Time and Data Expectations:

• Use quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies to show amounts to 99 cents (using as many quarters as possible)
• Use coins to show amounts equivalent to one dollar
• Create, model and solve problems that involve “making change”
• Select an appropriate unit for the attribute being measured, and develop common referents for measures
• Solve problems that involve elapsed time
• Read and show times past the hour (five minute intervals) on an analog or digital clock

Measurement and Geometry

• Recognize and create shapes that have symmetry and identify lines of symmetry
• Measure area with multiple copies of units of the same size
• Recognize and represent shapes from different perspectives
• Measure, compare and order objects according to weight or capacity

SCIENCE

Students learned about healthy eating through a Nutrition unit called, Little D’s Nutrition Expedition. Ask them about “Little D” and what he learned about “Eating the Five Food Group Way!

March 1st was Read Across America Day. Sonia Baghdady from Channel 8 WTNH News was our guest reader! The students enjoyed listening to Dr. Seuss’ book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Ms. Baghdady discussed why reading is important in her job. She then accompanied our class and ate delicious Green Eggs and Ham in the cafeteria with our other special guest readers. Pictures are also posted on her Facebook page.… check them out!

Updated: Friday March 12 2010