Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Special Fonts for Students with Dsylexia

For myself, this new font that CBS.COM aired is incredible!  It is a special font that helps people who have dyslexia read better - without flipping their letters.

Dyslexia Fonts that Help Children Read!

Monday, November 10, 2014

This Week - November 10

Language Arts:

·       Writing:  This week we will be working on Expository and Procedural Text.  We will be talking about how things are made (recipes) and focusing on transition words:  First, Next, After that, Finally, etc…
·       Reading: Our focus will continue to be Expository Text Features (Non – Fiction).  We will analyze magazines / newspapers and draw conclusions based on our inferences.  

Math: This week we will begin solving real – world problems using the Part / Part / Whole and using a “bar model” as a visual representation.  Homework Videos will be on Monday & Thursday.

Social Studies:  We will be working on reading and identifying various types of maps.  We will also look at the legends / key to help decipher important information.  Kids will be able to create their own map in class. 

Science:  We have some fun experiments that we will be doing this week with our Balance and Motion Foss Kit.  Students will be using ramps, cups and much more to study how objects balance and move.   

Upcoming Dates to Remember: 
18th - Spirit Night at Taco Cabana
19th - Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program

November 26th  – 28th Student Holiday

December
2nd - Spirit Night at Hugo Caliente

Fever Reminder:
With the cold, flu and other things going around, please remember that your child must be fever free for at least 24 hours before returning to school.  'Tiss the season to use Hand Sanitizer...

Cold Weather:
In case you have not had a chance to see the news, we will be dropping temperatures tomorrow.  I am unsure what it is going to be like in our temp building - so please plan to layer clothes!  Also - be sure you write your child's name in their coats / jackets.  Those can add up! 

Dress Code Reminder:
  • Shorts, skorts, dresses and skirt lengths must be finger length when arms are extended down a child's side. (The child's fingertip must be touching fabric, not skin.) No shorts or pants with words or logos across the back. When wearing a skirt or dress, shorts or tights must be worn underneath.
  • Sleeveless shirts are allowed. However, crop tops, halter-tops, tube tops or one-shoulder shirts are not allowed. Tank tops and shirts with spaghetti straps are allowed, but only if a shirt is worn OVER/UNDER them.
  • During our time at the South Transition Campus we are requesting that all students wear tennis shoes.  The walkways are slick and tennis shoes provide the best traction.  Therefore, athletic type shoes are the preferred shoe attire and must be worn for Health Fitness class. No flip-flops or shoes creating a safety issue are allowed

Special Thanks goes out to Heidi Castaneda & Han Wright.  They helped some of the class with the Little Bits on Friday.  They seemed to have enjoyed it!  We are looking forward to some more fun this next week!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Week of November 3rd

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be out tomorrow.  My transmission bit the dust on Saturday - so I am currently in the market for a repair service center to have my car towed too.  Unfortunately, the shop we have it now, does not deal with transmissions.  I also need to make sure I'm not taking it to a place that will charge me out of the roof!  I have a great sub coming and learning will still take place!  I'll be in early tomorrow to get things ready for her.  

On another note - we do have a lot of exciting things going on this week!  

Language Arts:  

Reading:  We will focus on Informational Texts with an emphasis on Expository Literature.  Expository conventions (Non Fiction) will be identified and discussed.  We will also be on the look -out for these features in our small reading groups.
Writing:  This week we will be experimenting with Expository and Procedural Writing.  We will also be finishing up our Narratives.
Word Study:  New words will be sent home.  I found a mistake in my Yellow Group video and will remake it.  

Math:  We will review our Subtraction Strategies.  There will be a video Monday, Tuesday & Thursday.  These are new videos that the kids have helped to make using our GoPro Cameras.  Your child is going to LOVE them!  We will have a chapter review on Tuesday and a test on Friday.  I'm also going to start Modeled Drawing with the class - this is coming up as our next chapter of study.  

Science:  We will be completing our unit on sound and energy. Our next unit will be on Balance and Motion.  

Social Studies:  We will be finishing up on Holidays and  leaning about Landmarks Local and State.  We will also be learning about maps.

I've organized all the Little Bits and would love to test them out this Friday.  I'll have a small group rotation - maybe 2/3 kids at a time working together each week.  Some will be working on circuits, others will be working on computer programming, and others will be creating videos for our class to learn from.  If you are interested in helping us out, please let me know.  

Week of October 27th

Language Arts:  We will be monitoring our comprehension as we read aloud, as well as, in small groups.  We will be practicing this using post – it notes.  We will also be using our inferencing skills to help guide our understanding.   We will continue writing narratives based on personal adventures.

Math:  We will continue to practice our subtraction with regrouping based on individual needs.  There is a homework video tonight, as well as, Thursday.  

Social Studies:  We will wrap up our government study and begin learning about Holidays.  We will also be working towards understanding maps.

Science:  We will finish our unit on Matter.  We will begin learning about sound, gravity, light and much more.  

Reminders:

Halloween:  Kids are NOT to dress up on Friday! 

Book Fair – Barnes and Nobles

Have a great week!

Week of October 20

Language Arts:
Given a just right fiction book. TLW reflect and respond to questions by filling out a variety of graphic organizers independently.  In writing, we will be working on stories from our lives.

Math:
Please note - there is a change on the homework sheet.  Your child will have a video to watch on Tuesday.  There might be others on the blog, but they will be used in class.  Feel free to review them if you wish.
We will continue to learn and practice our 3-digit subtraction with regrouping.  We will also be showing the kids some great strategies to use to help them!

Science:
We will be finishing up our study on Matter and Energy.  

Social Studies:
We will be discussing our government leaders.  

Early Dismissal: Thursday & Friday @12:15

Picture Retake:  November 4

Week of October 13

Language Arts:  We will review inferencing.  (Inferencing is when there are enough clues from the author / artist that someone can come up with an idea that is intended and not explicitly told.  This Friday, your child will have to sort and spell their spelling words.  If they are struggling to understand how to sort them, they can ask their teacher, or watch the video on our blog:  http://2ndrce.blogspot.com/p/word-study.html 
I’m also sending home today a little reading passage.  Kids will earn extra Dojo Points for completing it.  If it is too hard for them to read independently, please feel free to read it to them.  This will help them become better prepared for the 3rd grade curriculum.
 
Social Studies:  We will discuss our government leaders.  We will also compare and contrast the mayor and the governor using a venn diagram.
 
Math:  We will begin our next unit in math - Subtraction with Regrouping.  We will start small and work towards 3 digit numbers.  This is such a HARD task please be patient with your child and encourage them to keep trying!  Your child will have a video to watch for homework on Tuesday and Thursday.  We will be checking to see if they have completed this in their journal.  An extra practice sheet will come home on Wednesday.  Again – it’s optional but the kids who complete it, will get extra points.  J
 
Science:  We will be learning about how heat changes things.  
 
Book Orders:  I will be placing these this Friday.  Your child should have brought home a coupon for a free book.  
 
Fall Festival:  Friday, October 17th (4-7 pm) Don’t forget to return your raffle tickets.  You never know if your ticket will be the big winner!  Mrs. Trevino and Ms. Foster will be walking around taking candid pictures for the yearbook.  Don't forget to have your picture taken!  :)  See attached document for more information!
 
Sweaters & Jackets:  As our temps start to change, please make sure your child's name is inside his / her jacket &, or sweater.  It makes is much easier to locate when people know who to take it to.  
 
Go Pro Cameras:  A huge thanks to Han Wright for agreeing to be our Ginny pig and test out the camera.  As soon as I debrief the “do’s and don’ts” with her, I’ll be deploying them.  I hope to have them ready by Friday.  We will draw names based on those interested.  When your child brings them home, please put them up in a safe spot away from dogs, small children, etc.  They are water proof up to a certain depth - but please double check the “housing” before submersion.  I’m excited to get some cool footage to add to our flipped learning math instruction.  
 
PTA Reflections is a competition for all students to show their creativity in many different ways:  art, photography, music composition, dance and more.  Information about Reflections can be found on the RCEPTA website.  (Including the required forms.)
 
The theme this year is “The world would be a better place if…”
 
Watch this animoto to get your children inspired.  Anything is possible.  This theme is a great one to try.  
Any student who turns in a Reflections project will receive a gift certificate to the Yogurt Spot.
 
Due Date in October 24th.
Have fun Creating!!!!!
 
 
Have a great day!