It's already November! October was a very busy month. Take a look at what we've been up to! 
First of all, I want to say a big thank you to all parents for really working hard on homework folders this month! Most weeks in October, all students returned their Homework Folders with all pieces of homework completed! Once a month, we'll do homework club during lunch for all the students who do this every week of the month. 
In math, we've been working on connecting number models like 3+7=10 to their meanings and being able to manipulate all the numbers involved to show a deep understanding of the way they're working together rather than a memorization of the fact. (CCSS Operations and Algebraic Thinking A.1: Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.
Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.)
Number models seem simple, but there are many abstract concepts involved and we want to make these as concrete as possible right now. So, we have lots of fun ways to show number stories, including some candy corn counters and using our bodies as the numbers! 
We are also thinking about much larger numbers than we see in number stories and focusing on how mathematicians first analyze a problem and then make a plan before starting to solve it. In small groups, our kids counted large piles of pennies after talking to each other and deciding on the most efficient way to complete this challenging task. I was so impressed with the conversations I heard going on here and the ways students justified their reasoning, which is always the goal in math!
We recently finished our first science unit on Meteorology. We investigated everything from taking the temperature and observing clouds, culminating in several experiments to see the water cycle in action. Our big picture concepts in Science are not so much that our kids necessarily retain all the great vocabulary and facts they learn, but that they become engaged with science as a process and recognize that scientists approach problems in specific ways. We had so much fun during this unit!
We're now in the middle of a social studies unit examining the terms past, present, and future. It has been so cool to see all the great items your kids are bringing in in their paper bags to share about their own past, present and future! We are also getting some hands on experience with common items from long ago, thanks to Ms. Becca's antique shopping skills! 
In writing, we finished our Small Moments last month and published them. Those were hanging in the hallway for several weeks, and I'll be sending them home soon as well. At the end of each writing unit, we do an Author's Walk around the room so all our students can read each other's work and see how many fantastic writers are in our class! (CCSS Writing 1.3: Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.)
It was so fun to see many of you at the Fall Festival! So many great costumes!
Everyone in the class has now had a chance to hold Stella! We really look forward to having a few minutes at the end of a day to observe her up close. 
Thanks for reading! Next update coming in December!
