Happy Halloween!

There was lots of energy surrounding the room this week in anticipation of all the Halloween celebrations taking place this weekend!  We focused that positive energy on our work and with brain breaks here and there, we really had a fabulous week!

In writing, we are still working on publishing our final copies.  We met with our writing partners in the beginning of the week to go over our drafts again and check for spelling errors.  Each partner was very thorough and looked words up in the dictionaries when needed.  We should be ready for a writing celebration by the end of next week!

As you know, we finished topic 3 in math and moved onto topic 4 this week.  Topic 4 teaches us about mental math, estimation, and adding and subtracting whole numbers.  This is another short topic and we will most likely be having another test again at the end of next week.

In reading we are still discussing our character, thinking about how they change, the problems that they face, how they resolve these problems, etc.  We also discussed setting this week and how the setting can affect the character or the plot of the story.  Don't forget that October book logs should be turned in on Monday!

This week we finished up our observations of the minerals.  We still have a few more things to do, however the hands-on tests that we have been conducting have sadly come to an end.  I know the students really loved working hands on with the rocks and minerals!  

We had a great week with our second grade buddies.  We are learning American sign language!  We taught the students the alphabet and how to say "My name is..." in ASL. They loved this, and some of them continue to practice every chance they get! 

Check out the video below! 

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed your Halloween.

Thanks for your continued support,

Mrs. Riegel