This morning we practiced our first Wordly Wise lesson . The children have started learning the definitions through clipart. I'll attach the first set we used below. The only downfall of using slideshare is that the animations disappear. Originally, the students would see the clipart, then try to guess which Wordly Wise word was presented. I would click, then the correct vocabulary word would appear on the screen. This won't be possible with slideshare, but at the very least, it will allow your children to explain how the pictures help define each word:

To help the students understand the Wordly Wise homework, we completed parts A and B together.

We also discussed our new spelling format. Each week, the children are introduced to five new spelling words. This week's words are: all, also, does, every, & into. First, we entered each word into their personal dictionaries for easy reference, then I explained how they will be tested.

On Friday, I will give a dictation spelling test. For instance, I might say aloud, "Mrs. Neal thinks all of her students are fabulous." Instead of just writing down the appropriate spelling word (in this case, "all"), students are to write down the entire sentence. Students are only graded on the specific spelling words...but that list will grow.

Next week, the children will be introduced to five new spelling words, but on that Friday, they will not only be tested on the new list of five, but all previously introduced words as well. The dictation sentence might be something like, "Did all of you know there are volcanoes at the bottom of the ocean?" The two words being assessed in this sentence are all and know.

In Math, we practiced quick, mental math skills, then graphed how many letters are in our first names and last. You can see an example here:



We created a bar graph together in our journals (pages 6 and 7), and then analyzed the data, looking for the median, mean, range, and mode.

This afternoon, we held rotation. In small groups, we discussed how to take notes "caveman" style. We read a few paragraphs in our Sea Monsters book and tried taking notes together. During Seatwork time, students continued to save pictures for their glogs and caught up on some dictionary work.

It's been a busy day! Whenever you are out, I will post what we have been doing here for your reference and send home any assignments as soon as you return. Please let me know if anything posted here is confusing. I would be happy to help!