Initial Assessments - This morning, students completed the final beginning-of-the-year assessment: the Star Reading test that's used with the Accelerated Reader program. Except for those who were absent, everyone completed it. Everyone has also completed the i-Ready diagnostic tests in reading and math, so I'll be sending those results home in the Thursday folder tomorrow - if I can get the batch printing to download. I'm having some trouble with that at the moment, so cross your fingers.
Math Games - A lot of math skills can be practiced playing the right game and today we learned Addition Top-It. It involved a pair of dice, and record sheet, and some mental math. Ask your child how they liked playing it.
Social Studies - Well, that darned NASA Mission Control is still having trouble with radio contact so we again relied on our maps to guide us closer to our landing site. In the process, we reviewed the Continents (there are seven) and the Oceans (there are five) on planet Earth. Then we zoomed in on the continent of North America. Wow! We noticed that there are just three large countries (the United States being one) and LOTS of smaller countries to the south of Mexico. If you have a world map at home, you might have fun with your child naming some of them. (Being able to identify the continents and oceans is a third grade expectation/standard.)
1321 is clean and quiet ... at the lunch tables at least! The class earned a Tidy Table Ticket AGAIN today for talking quietly (not screaming/shouting) and cleaning up after themselves. Several Yard Duty Teachers have sought me out to complement the class on their behavior.