March and April Fun!

Room 13 was VERY busy in the months of March and April.  We have truly learned so much! Read on to find out about the great things that took place in school.  Please leave comment or a question and one of our students will respond in our next blog.  We look forward to your feedback!!!!!

Class Novel

As part of our Reading Workshop this year, the entire class participated in the Class Novel experience.  We tapped into all of the useful reading skills we have learned in both Shared Reading and Reading Workshop to understand and "dig in" to a chapter book.  This was different from the regular Reading Workshop because both students and teachers had a copy of the book in front of them.  Ask your child about the deep conversations we had during this exciting experience!

Earth Day!

Another Shared Reading had students discussing how each and every person can "Save the Planet!"Enjoy this special video presentation!

Needs and Wants/Goods and Services/

 Producers and Consumers

We created collages to show visual examples of wants and needs/ good and services.  We then wrote paragraphs explaining each term.  We recorded the students reading their paragraphs.  Finally, we created QR codes that can be scanned.  Once scanned, these codes take you to the videos that were uploaded on our you tube channel.  Check it out!

Science Fun!

We have made so many amazing projects in the science lab this year.  We had planted seeds to observe how they will grow.  How is your child's plant doing? An important focus was which direction did the plant grow....towards the light, away from the light, etc. 

Right now, students are designing and building insects! Fun and creative! 

Measurement, Telling Time, and Money...

Our mathematician's have been learning so much in the last months. As we continue our math journey together, our students continue to learn and grow. We are blown away by all they are learning.   We have covered the units of measurement, money, and telling time (since our last blog), and are currently back to multiplication of 3's and 4's. As always, we focus on real world application and problem solving in all units of study. The students have been challenged to think about how and why they will use these skills, in the real world!

Suzy Kline Author Visit 

This was an amazing visit by a truly wonderful author! In the weeks leading up to Suzy Kline's visit, we conducted an author study of many Suzy Kline books.  The children truly loved reading, listening to, and discussing many Horrible Harry and Herbie Jones books.   The day Suzy came to Cantiague was exciting and interesting.  She shared with us her writing process, and what she does as a writer.  She shared her inspirations for many of her stories, and we loved hearing how she collected her ideas (the seeds).  Some advice she offered was, "Always carry a small notebook in your pocket. You never know when a seed to a story will happen." Suzy then had the teachers perform a play from a part of her Herbie Jones series! Ask your child about our acting skills! Finally, Suzy took the opportunity to give the children and the teachers a couple of writing prompts.  She had us share what we wrote, and provided positive feedback to all! Thank you Suzy Kline!

Hear Ye-Hear-Ye- Team Marsen has been HARD AT WORK preparing for our Royal Gala Event. See you Wednesday June 3rd at 8:45 AM (SHARP) for a magical showing of our writing, acting, singing, and creativity! 

See ya' real soon!

January/February in Review

Room 13 rang in the New Year with smiles on our faces, happy to be reunited.  We have been working hard and playing hard in the months of January AND February! Read on to find out how.... 

"Far Out" in Space...

We were very immersed in our Solar System Unit both in the Science Lab and in the classroom. We learned about all of the planets and how each planet is unique. We  watched videos, read books, and researched each planet's facts and important information.  In addition, students worked in cooperative groups to research their randomly assigned planet in the computer lab.  They used a variety of websites and books to become experts on their planet.  They have almost finished creating PowerPoints with their research, and we know they will be OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!! 

Landforms, Landforms, Landforms

Room 13 has been hard at work, learning about the different types of landforms in our world.  We have read books, researched the internet, watched movies, and participated in a variety of activities to immerse ourselves in the different landforms we see or know of.  Soon, students will start to create a project (which they will chose) to demonstrate their knowledge of their researched landform.  Project styles include; a mini model of their landform and using the Show Me app, students will embed a picture of the landform and narrate their landform's characteristics. We can't wait to see what they create!

Hero Writing/Letter Fun               

Our last writing unit was very  informative and interesting.  Students were asked to think of a person that inspires them-either from their family, school, or community.  Your children then researched this important person by conducting an interview.  We  asked students to think about why their person is important and how they are inspired. We then took all the information gathered and wrote a letter explaining to others why this person is a TRUE hero.  Shout out to Mrs. Colucci for being Team Marsen's model and hero! Your work continues to inspire US each day! A key component we focused on this unit was adding in your opinion.  We felt it was very important for students to form opinions and support their thinking during this unit.   Have a conversation with your child about who inspires them and why! Next up.....Fairy tales!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited for this unit, because it promotes creativity and out of the box thinking. 

Measurement Matters!                   

Our previous unit in math was measurement in meters and centimeters. This unit has given us an opportunity to have discussions on the two different systems of measurement and why it is important to be familiar with both.  Although this particular unit targets length, we used this opportunity to discuss different kinds of measurement.  We were impressed with the children's knowledge.  We hope that you can take the time at home to discuss measurement when it applies.  We talked about how it is a real world skill that will help the students long after the unit is over. We currently are working on our money unit in math, and are already impressed with our students strong foundation in this subject area. 


Party time/Fun times!
We have had so much to celebrate since returning to school.  Valentines Day, 100th Day of School, Chinese New Year, 50 class compliments, and theJump-a-Thon are all reasons to smile and celebrate.  We truly enjoyed each of these occasions and know the students did too!

We are looking forward to meeting with Team Marsen families, at the end of March, to discuss students' growth this year!

Until next month....stay warm!