September 27, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

It was so wonderful to see everyone at the EHBi Open House last Thursday. What an amazing group of families we have!

Our classroom is now in full swing, and we are settling into our routines nicely. Below is a short summary of the past two weeks of school:

ELA: We read nonfiction books to accompany our science unit, focusing on text elements such as headings, captions, diagrams, and vocabulary. We also listened to several fictional read alouds, while practicing prediction strategies, to begin our study of the mystery genre. In Spelling, we continued our review of short vowels with a look at short e and short o; while in grammar, we discussed the key parts of a sentence (subject/predicate). During Writer’s Workshop, we drafted and began revising personal narratives.

Math: We continued our study of multiplication concepts, focusing on related multiplication/division facts, skip counts, and tape diagrams. We also took our mid-module assessment.

Science/SS: We finished our group posters. We also studied the water cycle and created a cloud in a jar.

Other: During Technology, we learned about an App called Scoot.

Best wishes to all for a fun-filled fall weekend!!

Sincerely, 

Ms. Feeney

September 13, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

Thank you again for helping students to successfully transition back to school. We have already started internalizing daily routines, which will help us to maximize our time on learning. This week, we set individual academic goals and classroom rules.

Following is a brief recap of the rest of our busy week:

ELA: We discussed the key elements of non-fiction and practiced reading this genre. We also reviewed the “short a/i” vowel patterns and enjoyed several more interactive read alouds about persevering through challenges.

Math: We explored the relationship between multiplication and division, focusing on the number of equal groups, the size of the group, and the total number of items (factor x factor = product and dividend/divisor = quotient).

Science/SS: We began a year-long study of Weather with some interactive videos and hands-on explorations. We also worked on several self-reflection activities and set personal objectives for the first half of this school year.

Other: We reviewed Library/Technology routines and learned more about our iPads.

Please note that the EHBi Open House will take place on Thursday, September 19th. I look forward to meeting everyone then. Have a lovely weekend!

Sincerely,

Ms. Feeney

September 6, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

I hope that everyone had a fun-filled summer with family and friends. Thank you very much for ensuring that students returned to school ready to explore and grow. We had fun reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, and reviewing school expectations. We are fortunate this year to have Mrs. Campbell, support teacher, and Mrs. New, classroom assistant, as part of the Room 116 team this year.

Here is a brief review of our first week together:

ELA: We enjoyed several read alouds, completed personal inventories, and conducted classmate interviews to help build our classroom community.

Math: We reviewed repeated addition and arrays, connecting them to equal groups and multiplication.

Science/SS: We worked together on a STEM project to save Fred, the gummy worm, and practiced using our close observation skills to examine our hands with magnifying glasses and draw scientific sketches.

Other: We had our first Spanish, Art, Music, Library, Technology, and Gym sessions.

Next week we will begin our Spelling program, set personal goals, and create our classroom constitution. Nightly homework will consist of a 2-sided math paper and 30 minutes of self-selected reading.

Best wishes to all for a fabulous weekend!

Sincerely,

Ms. Feeney

August 22, 2019

May 24, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

This week I had the opportunity to read with several students individually as part of our end-of-year BAS assessment. Everyone has made wonderful gains since September! I will be reading with the rest of the class next week.

Here are some other highlights from the week:

ELA: We focused on “compound words” and continued reading our fantasy books. We also wrote memory stories.

Math: We created perimeter robots, made flashcards, and took advantage of the sunny weather to play multiplication baseball outside.

Science/SS: We learned more about colonial life, began our colonial trade research, and added to our village during Social Studies; while we focused on our local ecosystem during Science.

Other: We gathered together for an all-school Memorial Day Ceremony. As a reminder, we have several important events over the next few weeks, including Field Day (6/3), field trips to Wixon (6/5) and the Jericho House (6/6), the Grade 3 Celebration (6/14), and the EHBi Family Picnic (6/14).

Best wishes to all for peaceful Memorial Day weekend. There is no school Monday, May 27^th, in recognition of this holiday.

Most Sincerely,

Ms. Feeney

May 10, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

Thank goodness for some sunnier weather – a little sunshine certainly goes a long way! Your generosity during this Teacher Appreciation Week was also very uplifting. We are truly grateful for your support.

Here is how we made our own sunshine in the classroom this week:

ELA: We reviewed “r-controlled vowels and homophones” during Spelling/Grammar. We continued our fantasy books in reading groups and worked on articles for our news magazine. Our reading/writing focus was cause/effect and sequence.

Math: Multiple mixed-practice items helped us to prepare for the Grade 3 Math MCAS, which will take place on May 14th and 15th. (Please help students to study math facts at home as this will aid their performance.)

Science/SS: We discussed how technology played a critical role in NASA’s first lunar landing and how it continues to advance the United States’ exploration of outer space. We also learned more about the Colonial Era.

Other: During Library/Technology, we expanded our understanding of the wide variety of marine species that struggle to exist within our local ecosystem. We also worked on a super special secret project.

Best wishes to all of our families for a marvelous and well-deserved Mother’s Day!!

Most Sincerely,

Ms. Feeney

May 2, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

Unfortunately, our April showers are spilling over into May, but at least the flowers are arriving too. However, along with the flowers come the allergies, so we could definitely benefit from some Kleenex donations (please and thank you).

May promises to be extremely busy. So much learning happens during these last two months! We have many events and assessments ahead, so we need to stay positive and productive.

Below please find a short summary of this past week:

ELA: We studied “contractions” in Spelling/Grammar. We also enjoyed our fantasy books in reading groups and began development of a Room 116 news magazine.

Math: We took our End-of-Module 7 assessment and conducted more formal preparations for the Math MCAS, which will take place on May 14th and 15th.

Science/SS: We discussed how some plants and animals use hibernation to help them survive the winter. We also continued our study of the Colonial Era.

Other: During Library/Technology, we worked on our Cape Cod unit.

Best wishes to all for a winning weekend.

Most Sincerely,

Ms. Feeney

April 26, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

I hope that everyone enjoyed a restorative April vacation. As always, we truly appreciate your ongoing support and effort to help us maximize our time on learning. Below is a short summary of our first week back:

ELA: We studied “irregular plurals” in Spelling/Grammar. We also enjoyed our fantasy books in reading groups and spent some time on informational writing.

Math: We took our Mid-Module 7 assessment on perimeter. We are now exploring the relationship between perimeter and area.

Science/SS: We continue to examine factors influencing the survival of various species. We also began our study of the Colonial Era.

Other: We continued to build test-taking skills in preparation for the Math MCAS, which will take place on May 14th and 15th. During Library/Technology, we started a unit on Cape Cod and filmed our “About the Author” videos.

Best wishes for a splendid weekend. Let’s go Bruins and Celtics!!

Most Sincerely,

Ms. Feeney

March 29, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

Here’s a quick recap of our very busy week:

ELA: We reviewed the “drop the e before adding -ing” spelling principle and practiced serial comma usage. We also worked on reading responses and spent some time on creative writing.

Math: We finished Module 6 and took our end-of-module assessment. The first few lessons of Module 7 focused on multi-step, multi-operation word problems; therefore, we focused on reading carefully, representing the unknown with a variable, breaking down multiple steps, and using different strategies to solve.

Science/SS: We learned about different types of clouds, their causes and effects.

Other: We continued to build test-taking skills in preparation for the ELA MCAS, which will take place on April 3rd and 4th. During Library/Technology, we created commercials and videos about favorite authors and their books. We also enjoyed an entertaining read aloud by Lieutenant Meehan as part of the EHBi Community Readers Outreach.

Best wishes for a warm weekend. Go Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics (and Duke)!!!

Most Sincerely,

Ms. Feeney

March 22, 2019

Greetings from Room 116!

Happy Spring!!!! We have been very busy beavers in Room 116. Here’s a quick summary of our week:

ELA: We reviewed homophones in spelling; and worked on a variety of grammar principles. We are stressing the importance of proofreading our work to self-edit for mistakes. In addition, we wrote letters to Mr. Dilley and read/responded to a wide variety of MCAS passages.

Math: We learned about line plots and practiced reading/interpreting graphically displayed data. This work involves careful reading and multi-digit addition/subtraction. Traditional algorithms are used for these multi-step problems.

Science/SS: We learned about how to spot “fake news” and how to pick reliable sources. We finished our geological timelines, adding data from our animal research.

Other: We continued to build test-taking skills on Study Island in preparation for the MCAS, which will take place on April 3rd and 4th. We also worked on our biography unit in Library. In addition, we were treated to a special preview of the Mattacheese production of “The Little Mermaid,” which takes place this weekend.

Best wishes to all for a lovely weekend!!

Most Sincerely,

Ms. Feeney