2nd/3rd: Week of 1/13

Math –

Ms. Andrea’s math group reviewed telling time: to the hour, half hour, quarter past, quarter till, in 5 minute increments and down to the exact minute! We learned new time games and created a “Day in the Life of a Beta” schedule as well as a dream schedule! This week was full of lots of practice telling time to the minute WITH PRECISION for the Beta 1s!

Ms. Kelly’s math group began the week working so hard on one and two step word problems that incorporate addition, subtraction and multiplication, moved into reviewing all of our multiplication strategies, word problem skills and fact fluency midweek before taking our multiplication assessment. It was a doozy but these mathematicians rocked it!

Reading –

Ms. Kelly’s spelling crew practiced spelling words with vowel-consonant-e patterns but adding the vowel suffix -ing. We learned that if a word ends in a *magic e* and we want to add the vowel suffix -ing, we need to drop the e first. (Example- for the word “drive”, if we want to write “driving”, we need to drop the e before adding the vowel suffix -ing). This rule has an appropriate name- The Dropping Rule!

Ms. Andrea’s spelling group studied r-controlled vowel digraphs: ir, ur & er. We learned that er usually comes at the end of the word, but with these 3 spelling patterns sharing the same sound, it can be tricky to know which one to use. That’s why we practice!

Book clubs have been working together, supporting one another as they navigate their novels. Many of the kids are actively using dictionaries to explore and understand rich vocabulary, enhancing their reading experience. This week, one group focused on partner reading while waiting for another group to complete their novel—and they did! Two groups will start exciting new books next week!

Writing –

We began the week discussing all things hyperbole! Hyperbole is when you use language to exaggerate what you mean or emphasize a point. It’s often used to make something sound much bigger and better than it actually is or to make something sound much more dramatic. Tall tales are usually filled with hyperbole as well as other types of figurative language that we will explore over the next couple of weeks. Each child took an example of hyperbole and drew the literal meaning and the figurative meaning. You can see these hung up in the hallway!

We continue to get familiar with the various components of Tall Tails before we begin writing our own. We read a version of Pecos Bill, a boy lost by his parents in the process of traveling and was found and grew up by coyotes, and then became one of the most powerful and famous cowboys in Texas. We analyzed the story before adding Pecos Bill to our Tall Tale map!

We also analyzed another version of Pecos Bill, as well as a nonfiction piece about the cowboys back in the 1800s. In studying these stories more closely, we have a better idea of what a Tall Tail actually is, so when we begin to write our own story next week, we will be well prepared!

We ended the week with another type of figurative language. IIn tall tales, personification is used to give human qualities to animals or inanimate objects, often exaggerating their characteristics to create a more dramatic and humorous story, making the narrative more engaging and adding to the fantastical nature of the tale by giving life-like traits to things that aren’t typically considered alive.

After a lively discussion about some examples of personification and what they mean, we partnered up, with an object idea written on a piece of paper, and created some personified sentences about the object. Everyone wanted to share their hard work!

Theme –

Lewis and Clark were tasked by President Thomas Jefferson to explore and map the western part of North America. Starting from St. Louis on May 14, 1804, they traveled with a team of over 40 men, bringing supplies like rifles, food, and beads for trade with Native Americans. Along the way, they met many tribes, including the Mandan nation, where they spent their first winter and met Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman who joined as an interpreter and guide.

Sacagawea’s knowledge and help from Native American tribes were crucial to the expedition’s success. The journey included challenges like portaging around the Great Falls in Montana and crossing the Rocky Mountains with help from the Nez Perce people. After reaching the Pacific Ocean in November 1805, they stayed for the winter and began their return in March 1806, completing the journey in six months. We mapped the route taken by Lewis, Clark, and their crew.

We learned about the things that the pioneers packed into their wagons in preparation for their travels. From dried foods to weapons, tools and cookery, they brought as much of the bare essentials that they could carry. The Betas illustrated different items inside a paper wheel, which we fastened with a brad so it can actually spin, revealing one item at a time.

We familiarized ourselves with the parts of a covered wagon and saw how big they actually were by measuring with our bodies – about one Beta wide and two tall Betas (or a tall Beta and a short teacher) long. Next, we formed families to travel within our wagons. Some of us changed our name or our age and we thought deeply on the decision to go west and what we hope to find there.