Mrs. Salomon's Class

Today we got our February book report directions. We also reminded ourselves that we have 100th day t-shirts due on Monday (wear them)!  Everyone is also asked to bring in a kosher (dairy or pareve) snack on Monday. We’ll mix them up and make special 100th day snacks.

Mrs. Salomon conferenced with everyone about their report card grades and goals. Everyone also received a special certificate recognizing something they worked on during the second quarter.

Third grade has a math test tomorrow. Second grade has a test next Friday. Personal narratives are due next Friday, February 3rd.

Today we discussed what we want to do to help with polar bear conservation. We made a plan and divided into smaller action groups. The first thing we need to do is research about polar bears and what the problems are. We also need to know how we can help and who is already doing things to help polar bears! We’ve got a lot to do and we’re really excited!

Today we wrote our pen pals letters again. We are looking forward to getting on Skype with them soon!

We began researching and thinking about polar bears. We were so inspired by the TFK article about the kids that chose to help the nautilus that we want to try and help an animal. We chose the polar bears!

We did lots of great math work today. Third grade worked on connecting multiplication and division fact families. Second grade looked at using 10 to add and subtract numbers like 8 and 9. It was tricky! Some students found it really helpful and others found it confusing. We’re trying to understand the strategy and decide if we want to use it.

Yesterday the class discussed how inspired we all were by the TFK article about the nautilus and the 5th graders fighting to help save them. Today, the class discussed different endangered animals they are interested in and why. After a long discussion/debate/vote, we have decided we are going to try and help POLAR BEARS. Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing the different ways that polar bears can be helped and decide on our own course of action. The students are highly excited and inspired, so please bear with them, as they talk over plans!

We had a great day today. We did a lot of hard work and really enjoyed our TFK magazine. In TFK today, we learned about www.savethenautilus.com. That’s a website that two fifth graders in Maine started to raise money for scientific research about the nautilus. The nautilus is the world’s oldest living animal at 500 million years old! The nautilus is killed for it’s beautiful shell to make jewelry. The fifth graders want to raise $15,000 to donate for research that Dr. Peter Ward is doing to count and study the nautilus. They’re worried that the nautilus is about to go extinct and they want to get it on the endangered species list. But to do that they have to know how many there are, which means they need to count them!

The nautilus is an animal in a chambered shell. It swims by changing the water it takes in. It lets water in and out to bounce itself up and down, moving it through the water.

Join NOJDS for the MLK Day March!

Today the second grade did work with fractions and cuisenaire rods. We had to find what rods are equivalent (equal) to the striped rod, or 1 whole. Then we talked about the fractions each one represents.

Today the third grade is learning all about natural resources in the different regions. We learned what a resource is, how  it becomes what we use, and what the difference is between renewable and non-renewable resources.  In math, we worked more with graphing data.

Today we talked a lot about the upcoming 2012 Presidential Election. Our TFK magazine introduced us to the four Republican Candidates and told us a few facts about each. We also learned how candidates are chosen through primaries and caucuses and then the Democratic/Republican National Conventions in September & August.

We started another busy week today! We took our spelling pre-test, started new vocabulary units, and worked hard in math. Second grade learned about thirds and fourths – a very tricky concept! Third grade worked on creating and interpreting price charts.