Allison Thomson

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February 17, 2010
by Allison Thomson

February

A lot of things have been happening this month. Here are a few of the highlights:
  • We learned all about Wisconsin (state tree, flower, flag, and bird...)
  • We did research about a new state that we read about in books.
  • We took the Reading MAP test (2/16) and will be taking the Math MAP test soon (2/18).
  • We are learned what a biography was and read several biographies about famous people.
  • We will be creating our own Autobiography (a paper will be sent home for parent help).
  • We had our Valentine's Day Party!
  • Chineese New Year has begun.
  • Jumprope for Heart (2/24)

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January 7, 2010
by Allison Thomson

Week of 1/11

Welcome back!
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In Math, we are ready to pick up right where we left off. We now know how to add two-digit numbers and how to carry. Soon, we will be introduced to double digit subtraction-- Then we will learn how to borrow. These skills are VERY important. Please help your student practice at home.
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HAMSTERS, oh HAMSTERS. Our new class pets have arrived. We have two Robo Dwarf Hamsters in our room. Their names are: Theodora and SiminaAlvina. Both of our hamsters are girls. We are working as a class to earn 100 points to get exercise balls for them to run around in. We can't wait! Each week, two students will be in charge of taking care of the hamsters. Their duties will include: feeding, giving them water, and cleaning the cage and replacing the bedding every Friday. We have only had them for a a few days but we are already learning what a big responsibility having pets is. I am also looking for a student volunteer to take the hamsters home over Spring Break to take care of them. Parent permission must be granted for this to happen. :)
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Our story is Officer Buckle and Gloria. This is a second grade favorite! We are working on this story for the second week. Some of the activities for the story include making puppets and creating a list of Safety Rules like Officer Buckle has.

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December 8, 2009
by Allison Thomson

Week of 12/7

Let it SNOW.... Let it SNOW.... Let it SNOW......
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We are continuing to work on story problems in math. Soon, we will be writing our own to challenge the class.
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We found a really neat website: primarygames.com (click on Math)
Here, we can play the game Numberz. It is a game where you need to click on numbers that equal 10. We play this game almost every morning on the SmartBoard during breakfast. The higher the level we get to, the harder the game gets. This is a PERFECT way to practice our math facts!
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Another good math website to check out is: funbrain.com (click on Math Arcade)
We also play math games on this site during computer lab.
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Some of us have added an extra bag of flash cards to our Reading Book Bag. It is important to study those words every night as well as read the book that we bring home. Parents, older siblings, and any other adult can practice these words with your student. When we have these words mastered, we will add more to our loop!
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Canned Food Drive! We are collecting cans of food to donate to families in need. The students can bring the cans to school and we will put them in front of the tree by the office.

Big Bushy Mustache

(vowel pattern: ow, ou)
town
house
sour
frown
cow
clown
found
how
mouse
brown
could
should
*around
*towel

Extra Notes:

  • December 9th- Half Day
  • December 10- Winter Concert for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade: 9:30 & 5:30
  • December 22- Class parties
  • December 23- Winter Break Begins
  • January 4th- Back to school
  • **It is getting cold, please make sure your child is dressed warm for being outisde. Students are not allowed to stay inside unless they have a Doctor's Excuse. Students go outside unless the wind chill reaches 10 degrees.

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November 30, 2009
by Allison Thomson

Week of 11/30

In Math this week we are going to start learning how to do story problems. We will learn what key words we need to look for in order to figure out if we need to add the numbers together or take them apart.
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We are still going to Mrs. Parsons' class for Science this week. We continue to learn about germs and ways to keep ourselves healthy at home and at school.
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Our letters to the Soldiers in Afghanistan have been written and we are sending out all of our gum. Thank you to everyone who donated! A special thanks goes to the Hobson family who donated 200 packs of gum! The Soldiers will be very excited to receive their gifts.
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In reading we are starting a story about Firefighters and their role at the firestation. We met Firefighter Dan earlier in the year, it will be neat to read about the things that he does in our reading book. Along with our reading, we will be learning compound words (two small words put together to make one larger word). Have your child look aound the house for compound words... Examples: livingroom, bedroom, bathroom, highchair, etc.

A Trip to the Firehouse

(spelling words: Long A)
train
tray
mail
play
trail
pay
sail
hay
nail
rain
they
great
*snail
*subway

Extra Notes:

  • December 9th- Half Day
  • December 10- Winter Concert for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade: 9:30 & 5:30
  • December 22- Class parties
  • December 23- Winter Break Begins
  • January 4th- Back to school
  • **It is getting cold, please make sure your child is dressed warm for being outisde. Students are not allowed to stay inside unless they have a Doctor's Excuse. Students go outside unless the wind chill reaches 10 degrees.

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November 16, 2009
by Allison Thomson

Week of 11/16

Only 7 school days left before Thanksgiving break!
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This week we are going to continue working on counting money. Last week, Friday, the students each counted out their own money bags. We will be working on different ways to make 50 cents and playing games where we are buying things in class. It is a great idea to play simple money games at home with your student. Even things as simple as counting the change in your pocket, change found in the couch, or change found in the laundry are great ways to practice this skill with your student.
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Germs. Germs. Germs. This week our class is moving to Mrs. Parsons' class for Science. There they will learn healthy ways to protect themselves from germs at home and at school. Please remember to WASH YOUR HANDS!!
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Dioramas and Animal Tracks will be coming home this week!.
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Chinatown

(spelling words)
when
sheep
both
then
chase
teeth
teach
dish
which
than
wash
catch
*lunch
*whistle

Extra Notes:

  • Please continue helping your student read from their Reading Book Bag. Don't forget to keep track of the minutes on their Book It calendar!
  • Report Cards come home on Wednesday.
  • New Book Order forms are coming home next week.
  • We are collecting money and packs of gum for Soldiers in Afghanistan until 11/24.

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November 6, 2009
by Allison Thomson

Week of 11/9

Our dioramas are done! Keep an eye out for pictures of the students with their work of art. We spent a lot of time on our projects and are going to display them in the library. Along with our habitat, we will be attaching an information card so people who are looking at them can learn something about our animal, too. Expect them to be sent home late this week or the following week.
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We are continuing to grow in math. We have been learning how to add double digit numbers and do carrying. We remember that we start in the ONE'S position, and then go to the TEN'S. Practice some of these problems with your student at home. I also encourage you to let them write a math problem for you to solve (they get to work on lining up their numbers...). We do this in class for each other in an activity we call snowballing.
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We continue to learn about animals in our reading books this week...

Owl Moon, Owls

(spelling words--20 word review list)
these
use
swim
glad
club
all
bone
cute
next
brave
add
mess
egg
hope
trip
stone
lost
off
grass
hill

Extra Notes

  • Please continue to encourage your student to read from their Reading Bag. The minutes can be recorded on their November Calendar at the back of their purple folder for a free pizza at the end of the month. Our goal is 200 minutes.
  • Feel free to contact me if you have any questions: athomson@sdb.k12.wi.us

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    November 3, 2009
    by Allison Thomson

    Week of 11/2

    This week we are working on creating Animal Habitat Dioramas. Each student has chosen a different animal to research. We got books from the library that match each of our animals. The students have spent a lot of time looking through their books and discovering some very interesting facts about their animal. We will be using shoe boxes and materials brought from home to create realistic animal habitats and shelters that will be put on display.
    .
    A big thank you to everyone who donated a shoe box, shoe boxes, or supplies. We really appreciate all the help and support from home, it provides the students with a rich and exciting learning experience.
    .
    We will be using what we have learned in Science to help us with our story for this week. The story, Around the Pond: Who's Been Here?, shows us a lot of different animal habitats and shelters. We will be talking about how different animals get what they need to survive by using their habitat.
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    Around the Pond: Who's Been Here?

    (spelling word list)
    bell
    off
    all
    mess
    add
    hill
    well
    egg
    will
    grass
    *across
    *skill

    Extra Notes:

    • Since we had a short week last week, there is no homework folder being sent home.
    • Please continue to encourage your student to read from their Reading Bag. The minutes can be recorded on their November Calendar at the back of their purple folder for a free pizza at the end of the month. Our goal is 200 minutes.
    • Feel free to contact me if you have any questions: athomson@sdb.k12.wi.us

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