Math
Ms. Andrea’s math group reviewed the concepts of part/part/whole and greater than/less than in preparation for an end of Unit 1 assessment! They also deconstructed 20 items inside (part/part) hoola hoops, played several joyous rounds of War, completed a Unit 2 pre- assessment, and then launched the unit by practicing counting ten rods into the hundreds place! Unit 1 math work & assessments will be sent home on Monday.
Ms. Kelly’s math crew continued their practice of ordering big and REALLY BIG numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least, compared two numbers and then read the statement from left to right (which proved to be quite difficult so we had lots of practice!) and we jumped into partner practice (ordering big numbers) and took a quick quiz on what we practiced with our partners!
Literacy
We were very busy this week in our Reading Block- Looking for and sorting digraphs, reading stories with, and reviewing, the many spelling patterns of the long u sound, building words, dividing big words into syllables, going back and finding evidence in a text to answer questions and of course READING!
In our Writing Block, many kiddos are already conferencing with the teachers because their rough drafts are complete. We are so impressed that the kids really took our minilessons to heart and added just the right amount of detail and excitement to their tales. Other kiddos are even writing their final drafts! We are so excited to complete and share our buggy stories with one another.
Theme –
It was gastropod week in the Beta room! We explored everything about the amazing snail! (Thanks to Reed, who wrangled up a bunch for us to study!) Before we got to know the little guys personally, we needed to learn a bit about them scientifically! Did you know through a structure called a “radula” in their mouths, snails pry off pieces of what they’re eating and further break it down. The radula features up to 12,000 teeth, which is… a whole lot! Or that snails propel themselves forward using one muscular foot? The mucus they secret also serves as a lubricant and protects their underside from rough or sharp surfaces. Or that the word “gastropod” is Greek for “stomach foot”? They are fascinating creatures.
We had a lovely time with our very friendly snails! The little guys didn’t mind us getting up close and personal with them! We found their 2 sets of tentacles, spotted their tiny black eyes, felt their mucus trail, as well as their radula (their tiny little toothed tongue), watched them munch on some cabbage and even had snail races! And we think two of them may have been mating. So we left them to do their thing in our little habitat. Cross your fingers for baby snails!
We also created some snart! Yes, you read that right! We created some beautiful snail shell mosaic art- snart! A relaxing way to end our snail week! 🐌+ 🖼️ =snart