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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Today's News 1-31-18

Wonderful Wednesday

Today was one of those days where the kiddos came in very energetic and ready to learn. Students worked very hard throughout the day to make their brains grow! We work very hard in here to create and environment where students are willing to take chances when learning. This year I have seen many students step into that uncomfortable area of being unsure. They have stepped up and put themselves and their thoughts out there with a willingness to make mistakes and learn from them. This is truly how we grow our brains and I could not be any more proud of them!

Students working on summarizing in a small guided reading group


Today students started the day with Reflex Math. I am seeing the usage times grow drastically which is great. Students now seem to be buying in and using Reflex to address the foundation math facts which we know to be very important.

In ELA we continued working in our guided reading groups learning about the Homesteaders of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Students have been working to summarize the fact filled expository texts they have been reading in small groups. 

Student working with Mrs. Passino during ELA


In Social Studies students continued to study maps today but with a focus on presenting their findings to the class. Kiddos are finding out it's not always easy to work with others but many are using strategies learned in class to make their groups work and meet their objectives. Presentations will start tomorrow and no later than Friday.

Students from table #3 watching Loony Tunes during Loony Tunes Lunch


Overall we had a great day. In the afternoon we continued working on our multiplication, read chapter 12 of, "Because of Winn Dixie," and added some nes sentences to our shared reading model paragraph. We ended the day with a great RTI session where we learned about combining predicates to make simple sentences with one subject.

Have a great night!

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Today's News 1-30-18

Terrific Tuesday

Today was a great day of learning and fun. Students played a little Mum Ball this afternoon after starting work on our shared paragraph writing piece. As we continue to learn about paragraph structure students and I are constructing a paragraph on the topic of nocturnal animals. Paragraphs are set up in the following way: 
Paragraph skeleton

The topic sentence from our shared writing paragraph...more to come!



Students continue to make progress in Math. Most of the class is still working in topic 5, (Multiplication Patterns) while we now have at least two students working on topic 6 (Using Known Facts). Students continue to make progress on Reflex Math. You will start to see more individual rewards come home from Reflex Math. Keep you eyes open!


A group identifying specific parts of a world map

A social studies group working on map features


Have a great evening and I look forward to seeing all the kiddos tomorrow!

Monday, January 29, 2018

Today's News 1-29-18

Moving On Monday

Today was a great day for us all! We started the day with our Monday morning meeting (thank you Mrs. D) and worked into ELA where we introduced the week's new vocabulary and began new texts in our guided reading groups.

Mrs. D doing morning meeting


In Social Studies we began studying different types of world maps. Students were asked to collaborate and identify the specifics of each map. Tomorrow we will continue this map work.

In math today students solved problems using an informational table. Students were asked to use the table and their knowledge of multiplication to solve some real world type problems. We talk everyday about the importance of what math actually is. Math is not a time period each day between 12:50-1:45. It's a tool we use to help us solve problems in the real world on a daily basis.

In writing we continued our work on paragraph writing. Students were asked to take what they have been taught already and use that information, along with what they have learned in previous years, to write a paragraph on a topic of their choice. These initial pieces of paragraph writing will be compared to their final pieces to determine how much progress they have made.

We ended our day with RTI where students read independently and I began my F&P leveled reading testing. This testing determines the students reading level (you see this information included with report cards). This testing will take me some time but will determine my instructional strategy from this point forward. It is well worth the time. 


WE MISSED YOU AUSTIN! TAKE YOUR TIME AND FEEL BETTER BUDDY!

Friday, January 26, 2018

Today's News 1-26-18

Fun Friday


Today was a great ending to a very hard working week full of student exploration and learning. In light of Friday I am going to be short and sweet. Included here are some pictures of our day to open the door of our world to yours. I wish you all a truly wonderful weekend! I am so proud of the students!

Me scoring a group during Friday Mathketball

A student sharing a rock she brought in with the class

This is what our morning looks like from 8:30-8:50. Students arrive and read the morning message on the active board to find their direction

A student thinking hard during ELA

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend!!

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Today's News 1-25-18


Thursday!


Today was a day of academics from start to finish (not that others days aren't, but today we really pushed). I am very pleased with the effort the students are putting forth each day. I am so proud of them, will continue to work with them, and try my best to meet each of them exactly where they need to be met in order to grow as learners and people.

Today in ELA we began making the connection between summarizing and main idea. We were able to conclude our summarizing experience, reflect on it, and discuss how that strategy can be used to identify the main idea of a text and the key details that go along with it.I can't say we are there 100% but we are getting closer. Tomorrow, after our vocabulary/spelling assessment we will continue working on summarizing and main idea.




A student writes the daily schedule on the board


Scientists identify feature of minerals

Some classroom texts available to students

During the afternoon we continued our exploration of multiplication, we practiced coming up with some star ideas to go along with paragraph topics, and we did some word building during small group RTI time. Overall it was another great day of learning and we are looking forward to more tomorrow!

Star ideas are important sentences in paragraphs




Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Today's News 1-24-18

Wonderful Wednesday

The students worked very hard today. Wednesday can be a tough one but they came ready to learn and had a successful day. In ELA we spent the entire hour and twenty minutes working in guided reading groups on summarizing. Tomorrow we will introduce main idea and make the connection between the two (summarizing and main idea)

Students do some hands on work to identify the features of 3 minerals (notice the gloves!)
 In science we worked with three mystery minerals and began identifying the features of each. Overall we had a great day today!


Looney Tunes Lunch today with Table #3

Here is a picture of how the tables points are counted throughout the week. The table that earns the most points by Friday gets to come in for a Looney Tunes Lunch the following Wednesday!


WE MISS YOU AUSTIN!!!

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Today's News 1-23-18

Terrific Tuesday

Today students worked very hard from the get go. Students worked on Reflex Math upon entering the room and continued their learning by challenging themselves to summarize chapters from a leveled text. 


Today in Science students completed their text based questions using notes they took from the text to help them highlight the differences and similarities between Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic rocks.


Students during indoor recess.


During RTI today students worked on fluency by choral reading (all reading at the same time) a play together. 

Students working on fluency choral reading together

Overall it was a great day. I was finally able to get the spelling packets out for students to take home. I apologize for that. 

WE MISSED YOU AUSTIN!!!!

Monday, January 22, 2018

Today's News 1-22-18

Moving Fast on Monday

*The spelling packet was not ready by the end of school today so students will not have it with them tonight. I'll have it ready for them to take home tomorrow. I will also extend the deadline from Thursday to Friday.




This morning came fast and students proved to be up for the challenge during ELA. Once again our main comprehension focus will be on the skill and strategy of summarizing and identifying the main idea in a text. Students worked hard, both independently and in small groups, to learn how to summarize parts of texts that they read. By summarizing small parts as they read then they are better able to return to the text and summarize the entire text. This is also where identifying the main idea and key details of the text comes into play.


We continued our exploration into the world of rocks and minerals in science today. Students were asked to use notes taken on an article they read to answer some level 1/2 questions on sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks.
Student focused on her science

Students search their notes for key information to help them answer level 1 and 2 questions.


Our new read aloud...a classic!






Friday, January 19, 2018

Today's News 1-19-19

Great End of the Week

We had a great Friday of learning and growing together! Students received new dictionaries from the Scotia Elks, we took our vocabulary/spelling tests with great success! Students were able to go OUTSIDE for recess today (you should have seen them flying around the playground!!!!). Overall it was a great day! I wish you all a great weekend! Below are some pictures from today.

Students listening to a student present an amazing rock found in Jamaica

Students working together during Mathketball today

Our Mathketball Active Board page

We finished reading Stone Fox as a class today. It was an incredible, but emotional story!

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Today's News 1-18-18

Back on Track

After having Monday off and having a delay on Wednesday today finally felt like we hit our stride. It's amazing how a five day plan can seem like it's in pieces when the schedule gets broken up.

In ELA today we began our exploration into the world of student collaboration and discussion. Students worked together in their guided reading groups to read a leveled expository text and appropriately respond to text based questions using a text evidence to support their thoughts. We are only at the very tip of the ice burg with this. The long term goal is to create a learning environment where students can read texts together and ask each other explicit, higher level questions to expand their thinking. Students will learn, eventually to ask themselves these higher level questions when reading and as a result they will have a much deeper understanding of what they read.

In Science we continued learning about the three major groups of rocks, Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic in small groups. We took notes on a text, reviewed those notes, and will use those notes to answer challenging questions to gauge student learning about the text that was read.

Table #5 came in for our weekly Loony Toons Lunch (see below). The table that earns the most table points one week is awarded a lunch with me while watching some hilarious Loony Toon Cartoons.




In Math we continued our multiplication exploration and in Writing we learned more about writing paragraphs.



Overall we had a great day! It was nice to get back on track and work hard to grow as a classroom family!

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Today's News 1-17-18


A Snowy Start

We had a snowy start to the day but we certainly got it going once the students arrived.

We spent the morning discussing the importance of Reflex Math and the fact that I am now aware of my ability to track student usage time and student progress. Students enthusiastically used Reflex today at different times and I think we are truly headed in the right direction with math fact practice.

In Math we explored more multiplication and discussed the connections between multiplication and division. Students talked about "fact families" and how they can use their knowledge of multiplication to help them with division on Reflex Math.

In writing today 3rd grade paragraphs were introduced. Students shared what they already knew about paragraphs and compared that knowledge to what paragraphs actually are. Students were told how and why paragraphs are used in writing and were provided with the skeleton of a paragraph. Tomorrow writers will begin to explore the different types of sentences in paragraphs in preparation for learning how to correctly construct a paragraph in their own writing. It will be a lot of work but it certainly is an important tool for them to have as they continue to grow as writers.



We ended the day with RTI (Response to Intervention). During RTI some students read good fit books independently, some students worked on Reflex Math, while others worked in small instructional groups with teachers focusing on important skills and curriculum that need attention. In my group we learned about past tense verbs and how to identify/use/spell them in sentences. Overall it was a great day!

*Please don't forget to fill out the website informational slip I sent home today. Those are very important going forward. This way I will know who I can and cannot include on the site.

Be safe out there and have a great evening with your children. I sure had a great day with them!


Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Tuesday January 16, 2018

Today's News


Today was a great day in school. The students came back from the weekend ready to learn!

Mrs. D started the morning with a great morning meeting about how we use our voices when speaking to friends and then we were off and running. In ELA we learned about summarizing small parts of an expository text we read, we worked in guided reading groups, and students worked independently on reading and vocabulary activities. Tomorrow we continue our exploration of summarizing.



In Science we began explicitly exploring the three major types of rocks, Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic in small groups. We will continue tomorrow.

In Math we continued to explore multiplication while also working on practicing our multiplication math facts.

During the late afternoon we listed to MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech and also read a story about his life. We ended the day cleaning out our desks and folders in preparation for new learning in the days and weeks to come.



Have a great night!

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Now an Active Website

Dear Parents,

I hope this message finds all of you doing well. First let me begin by wishing you all a very Happy New Year! 

My goal with this website is to start using it as a resource for all of you on a daily basis. This was my initial plan starting in September but unfortunately my plan fell short as a result of not following through the way I had wanted to. I apologize for that.

Starting now you will find the following information on this website on a daily basis:

-A brief write up of the goings on during our school day (everyday!) 
-Learning picture of the day
-Daily HW assignment

You will also find a new page on the site. The Reflex Math page is one that will provide you some information on Reflex Math and a link to the Reflex Math webpage itself. There you will find an introductory video highlighting the specifics of the program.

Still, there will be an important dates page and two pages dedicated to the previously posted pictures of the day and videos of the day.

*If you would prefer that your student's picture and/or a video of them learning NOT be posted on the website please let me know ASAP. I will NEVER post a picture or video of your child if you are not comfortable with it. Please just let me know as soon as possible.


My hope is that this page will make you feel more informed and included in what we are doing in the classroom on a daily basis. We are all part of this classroom family and I now want to open the doors of our room to include you all as much as possible.

Happy New Year and thank you for all of your continued support! 

Mr. Lippiello