The big news these days is our Wahsega trip. Today we had our Tigersquad meeting to go over the plans with the students so I want to take this opportunity to fill you in as well.
1. We will load the bus at 8:00 on October 25. Students need to be in the classrooms and ready to go. Chaperones can meet us in the lobby.
2. Students have a simple packing list: water bottle and shoes for the stream. (Shoes should be aqua socks, crocks, or old tennis shoes that can get wet. Flip flops will NOT work. Though not very deep, the stream is fairly swift so students need something that will stay on their feet.)
3. Students may bring:
- disposable camera
- small travel game or book for bus ride (nothing electronic or battery powered allowed)
- extra clothes (in the event of a "dip" in the stream!)
- money for shopping at the canteen (no more than $15)
4. It works well to put the shoes in a grocery bag. A small back pack, fanny pack, or tote bag for the water bottle and camera would be helpful while we hike around. Please label everything.
5. We will return to Tritt at 5:00. If you are unable to meet the pick up time, please let me know and I will check your child into ASP. Anyone who has not been picked up by 5:20 will be checked into after school.
6. If your child has a Tritt T-shirt, please have them wear it.
The web address is www.georgia4h.org (Click on the "Wahsega 4-H Center link.) This will give you more information on exactly where we are going and how you can contact the center if necessary.
I know this is a very expensive trip for just one day, but it lays very helpful groundwork for next year's overnight. Thanks for supporting us. Your kids will have a ball!!
In other news:
We are working our way through reading strategies. We have learned to use our prior knowledge and make connections to enhance our reading comprehension. We are now working on the strategy of visualization. This week our lessons are revolving around visualizing a story setting. In introducing and practicing a new strategy we rely on texts which don't provide a lot of challenge in the way of vocabulary or decoding. This enables the reader to focus on thinking about the content rather than dealing with new words.
In math, we are finishing up addition strategies. Again, with these strategies I am focusing on thinking about the numbers as opposed to finger counting. The students will bring a review sheet home Tuesday and have a quiz on Wednesday. We will then move on to double digit addition. At this time it will be necessary for them to have a firm grasp of basic addition facts. There are some great practice sites on the second grade links on the Tritt web site. Good old flash cards are strong practice tools as well.
We are writing personal narratives. I am hearing and reading some very clever stories. I keep student writing in a portfolio and only send it home periodically. This gives the students a chance to return to pieces they like and I can get a broader look at how they are developing as writers. You can keep track of their writing growth through the parent journal entries.
Our social studies lessons have been on map and globe skills and we are having another lab on states of matter tomorrow.
As always, thank you for all your support and help in making our classroom a great place for your children to learn!
Mrs. Wiggins