February 13 – 16

The students enjoyed the “How to Build a Snowman” project.  While it was rather challenging, the students did a great job utilizing many different transition words and were very encouraging when they peer edited other student’s work.  Our only wish is that we would have enough snow to REALLY build a snowman!

Raz Kids is in full speed and the students are progressing in their reading fluency as well as comprehension.  Many students are also working on Raz Kids at home and it is really making a difference!  If you have any questions about how your child is performing please give me a call!

This week our spelling sound is “l”-(al, el, il)-Check out SpellingCity.com

We will review cause and effect with a great little book entitled The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash.  We are also reading My Mama Had a Dancing Heart and discussing word choice.

I am seeing progress in your child’s writing ability.  I am seeing more creative ideas, complete sentences, and juicier adjectives.

Keep up the good work!

Mrs. Murphy

February 6 -10

In Reading this week we are working on sequencing.  We will begin our unit on writing a “How to” paragraph/booklet.  Last week we made peanut better and jelly sandwiches, this week we will be making a snowman and writing the instructions.  Each student has made a list of things they can do like- make a bed, make pancakes, wash a dog, etc.  We will start with a rough draft of “How To” and use transition words to relay our ideas.

Our spelling sound of the week is “o-e”- (ou, oe, ow) Check out Spelling City.com. 

Raz Kids is going GREAT!

Keep reading,

Mrs. Murphy

 

January 23 -27

This week, we will be reading several versions of the classic book, Paul Bunyan, and looking at how we can use writing techniques such as sensory detail, figurative language, and purposeful dialogue to enhance a story.

We will continue going to the computer lab and working on our new curriculum Raz Kids.  The students are enjoying listening to books at their reading level, answering comprehension questions and then using the points they gain to decorate their own “Reading Rocket”.   As teachers, we are able to track each student’s progress and see the strengths and weaknesses of each reader.  This valuable information is used to help each child meet their full potential as a reader.

In writing, we are diagramming sentences and working on writing good beginnings and endings as well as complete sentences.

Keep reading,

Mrs. Murphy

This week we will begin Raz Kids a new, fun-filled curriculum which is student guided. Students may record themselves reading, listen to books, read books, take short tests about comprehension and questions from each book , and earn points to decorate their very own rocket ship. This unique, computerized curriculum also sends reports to the teacher so I can help each student meet their full potential.

Our spelling sound this week is “r”. Find it on SpellinCity.com to play games and improve learning.

Keep reading,

Mrs. Murphy

January 9 -12

This week we will be focusing on famous American’s such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges as we discuss the impact they made on our world and Civil Rights. We will even listen to MLK, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech. We will be writing about how life now if different because of the sacrifices these Americans made.

The Pizza Hut reward party is on Thursday 1/11.

No spelling this week.

Keep reading,

Mrs. Murphy

January 4 – 6

Welcome back! Hope your had a relaxing break.  This week we will be focusing on subjects and predicates-nouns and verbs.  We will finish our unit on descriptive writing.  We will also be starting RAZ Kids a new computerized reading curriculum.  December Book It calendars are due Friday.

Keep reading,

Mrs. Murphy

December 12 – 16

This week we are finishing a min-unit on Figurative Language.  Monday we will work on Personification.  Next, we will begin one of the students favorite projects: Descriptive Writing.  We have worked on juicy adjectives, vivid verbs, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeias, alliterations and personification in order to make this descriptive writing project more descriptive and interesting to the reader.

Our spelling sound this week is “n” made ny (n, nn, gn, and kn).  Check out spellingcity.com for games.

Our weekly A-Z fluency checks have been very beneficial all students have increased their oral reading fluency by at least 20 words per minute and a few have nearly doubled their beginning fluency rate.  I am so proud of the students hard work!

Keep reading!

Mrs. Murphy

December 5 – 9

This week we will continue with our unit on Figurative Language.  We will be learning about Idioms, Personification, Alliterations and Onomatopoeias.  This will really help make our descriptive writing much more interesting.

We will be continuing our study on Cause and Effect.  We will also be assessing oral reading fluency.

Our spelling sound this week is “m” which can be made with the following patterns: (m, mb, mm,mn).

Thanks to all our students that made Christmas cards for soldiers.

Our Pizza Hut trip is on December 6th or 8th, Tuesday or Wednesday from 3:30 – 4:30.

Happy reading,

Mrs. Murphy

November 28 – December 2

This week in reading we will be working on the concept of Compare/Contrast by using charts and graphic organizers to compare and contrast pictures, objects and books.  We will also begin a unit on Cause and Effect.

Our spelling sound this week is “l” made by (l, el, le and ll).  Check out Spellingcity.com for some fun ways to learn this sound.

We will also be starting a unit on Descriptive Writing using juicy adjectives and vivid verbs.

Don’t forget to turn in your November Book It Calendar.  Just 10 minutes per night and you get a FREE pizza from Pizza Hut.

Happy reading!

Mrs. Murphy

November 14 – 18

This week we will continue working on the concept of inferring. We will also compare and contrast several types of books.

In writing, the students finished their research project on the shark of their choice. I was very impressed with the effort and success of their interesting research.

The students will continue working on oral reading fluency and even get to record themselves reading on Audacity, a special audio program that records the students’ voices as they read.

Please continue to read with your child. It really makes a huge impact! The Pizza Hut Book It calendars are out for the month of November-just 10 minutes per day and your child gets to go on a field trip to Pizza Hut with their friends.

Enjoy your weekend,

Mrs. Murphy