December Poem: Sensing The Seasons

Sensing The Season

Feel the snowflakes on your face,

Cold as ice they take their place.

Smell the gingerbread in the air,

Make a house if you dare.

Taste the sweets all around,

Chocolate and candy canes can be found.

Hear the many sounds of the season,

Singing, bells and music all for a reason.

See the lights that shine in the night,

Colours of the season are red, green and white.

Animal Hibernation

We are creating dioramas of hibernating animals in November. Please send in a shoebox so your child can start their research project and create their report.  Talk with your child about which animals hibernate and what each animal's habitat looks like.

Our Monthly Poems for November

Grade One Poem for November

How Animals Get Ready For Winter

Brown squirrel, brown squirrel, what do you do?

I gather nuts for winter. Is that what you do?

Black bear, black bear, what do you do?

I find a den to sleep all winter. Is that what you do?

Canada goose, Canada goose, what do you do?

I fly south for the winter. Is that what you do?

Caterpillar, caterpillar, what do you do?

I make a warm cocoon for winter. Is that what you do?

Beaver, beaver, what do you do?

I make a den of stick and mud. Is that what you do?

Grade Two Poem for November

Learning Skills

Each student has identified what learning skills they would like to improve.  We relate these skills to different animals.  Ask your child what their animal is and what skill they are working on. 

Reading Focus

We are learning strategies to help us sound out words, Stretchy Snake, Lips the Fish and Chunky Monkey are on the schedule for this month.  Reading Groups have begun and students are keen on reading and improving levels!

Math Focus

We are ending our first segment on Number Sense and Numeration where we focused on representing, comparing and ordering whole numbers.  We are moving into Patterning using shapes and colours then Data Management where we gather, sort and represent data on graphs.  Students are learning about the 4 Achievement Categories communication, knowledge, application, and thinking.  Math is fun and exciting in our class!

Recounts

We are learning that recounts are stories in the past and are about something we did or an event we experienced.  Recounts are a more formalized and structured form of writing which follows a Success Criteria and creates a story.  Recounts are reviewed and revised by the student, with a partner, and with the teacher before it is completed and marked.  

Have your child recount something that you did together, for example, grocery shopping, setting the table, going for a walk in this great fall weather. Can they recount one event after this Thanksgiving weekend?

An example of a recount.

Language Focus

Each morning students write the words of the week displayed on a chart in a sentence on a white board. They continually build on words from prior weeks to create their sentences. We are learning about using CPSW (capitals, punctuation, space and words on our walls) in our sentences. Students are learning to check for CPSW with a partner when their writing is finished.  This month we are moving into Revise and Edit Success Criteria which students use daily to check and correct writing. 

Thanks!

A big thanks to parents and care-givers for your most generous donations of soap kleenex, paper towels and other items.  They all make such a difference in our classroom.  

Thanks for participating in our weekly word and monthly poem programme.  It is amazing how learning these specific words weekly improve reading levels and the joy of reading.  

It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Meet the Teacher night and have you sign up for an interview.  Your child was so proud to share what they have accomplished and so pleased to show off their room.

I am looking forward to a wonderful year of learning with your child.  Please do not hesitate to slip a note in the agenda or email me at lwallisdean@scdsb.on.ca if you have any questions or need to share information with me.

Mrs. Wallis Dean