Hello Autumn!!

It seems like I just woke up this morning and all the trees put on their colorful coats for autumn! How beautiful it is outside at this time of year.
Our personal narratives (small moments) are just about finished and I am so proud of all the writing the students have completed! They are full of confidence and see themselves as writers who have important ideas to share with others. It is wonderful to see. We move to writing expository pieces - writing that tells or explains how to do something. It is quite fun to help students put down on paper their ideas about how to make or build something. I show them student pieces from years past to give them an idea of how to write this kind of piece.
In reading we are using our strategy called visualizing. Students can articulate this strategy very well. We have been reading several non-fiction pieces about snakes and spiders. The students are fascinated by these topics. (Thomas found his own spider during recess and we are trying to find out what kind it is!!)
In Word Study we are learning about how some words have two vowels and they usually make the long vowel sound of the first vowel.
In science we have completed an experiment on interactions of different properties. In social studies we have been using maps and talking about parts of maps.
Math continues to be lots of fun. Geometry is a terrific topic!! We have covered quadrilaterals, rectangles, and right angles. It is fascinating to see students using these shapes to solve problems.
We had a terrific visit to the George Eastman House and the Brighton Fire Station. Thank you to all the parents who helped us plan and participate in these two trips.
If you would like to send in a small bottle of hand sanitizer for your child to use at lunch or in the classroom that would be fine. We have larger bottles for classroom use, as well. Also, please send in your pillowcase if you haven't done so already. We use these for holding all our books!
We will have a student teacher on Monday. Mr. Steven Pace will be joining us from Nazareth College. He will be with us for 7 weeks.
Enjoy the beautiful fall colors! Mr. Wikiera

It is hard to believe that we are already into October and its the fifth week of school already!
We have been very busy with our first reading strategy called Visualizing. We will be practicing this strategy for the next few week. We create a mental image in our brains when we read and this helps us with comprehending what we have read. Students say things like" "I pictured . . . "
Our personal narratives are really coming together. The student pieces are ideas that they have taken and "stretched"' into small moment stories. Students are beginning to understand what revising means and demonstrated this many times.
In math, story problems have been introduced and students are great at giving complete answers - pictures, equations, labels, and sentences.
For word study we reviewed vowels (short sounds) and have created our first word study list.
REMINDERS:
We would like to welcome Owen back to Allen Creek.
We have a field trip to the Brighton Fire Station on the 15th.
We have a field trip to the George Eastman House on the 16th.
Picture Day will be on the 15th as well.
Don't forget to send in a pillowcase if you haven't already done so.
Columbus Day on the 12th - no school.