What's Going On In Room 218?

Reading and Writing and 'Rithmatic....
In language arts, we continue to focus on retelling stories to our friends. This week, we have added a 'retell' activity to our word work station. In it, students can practice retelling stories we have read using pictures on our felt board (they love it!). You can reinforce this at home by asking your child to tell you what happened with a cartoon they watched, or a book you have read together.
In writing, we have started our "how to" unit and the kiddos helped to create a "How to Make Popcorn" recipe, which we used to make popcorn today. Later on this week, the kids will write their very first "how to" writing piece on their own, about how to brush their teeth. They will focus on using sequence words, tapping/dragging out unknown words (spelling), as well as capitalization, spacing, and punctuation. 
In math, we have been working on our addition/subtraction stories. These lessons focus on the importance of having kids understand that there are opportunities to add/subtract all the time. For example, my mom handed out 4 slices of cake. She then gave one more piece to me. How many slices of cake did we eat? And just yesterday, we started creating equations & pictures to represent these stories:-)
For President's Day yesterday, we learned many interesting facts about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We learned that President Lincoln kept important documents under his tall, black hat to keep them safe. So, I asked the kids what they would have kept under their hat if they were President Lincoln. Some of the answers included...
-My DS games and charger (Andrew)
-my IPOD (Ava)
-My dad's old phone (Reid)
-my toys (Jada)
-chocolate (Kara)
-pictures that I've drawn (VeRon)
-'power pellets' that we earn in our classroom (Mark)
-"Backavons" (Hutton)...I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong, but it is some type of toy.

Boosterthon/Fun Run
For those of you who are new to Banks Road, the Fun Run is a fundraising opportunity for our school. Next Thursday, all students will be participating in the Fun Run and running laps. The fundraising part comes in when parents and loved ones make donations to our school based on the number of laps your child runs (most students will run 25-35 laps). Parents/loved ones can also donate a flat fee.
Today was our Boosterthon/Fun Run kick off! Students received Boosterthon/Fun Run booklets that explain more about this program. When you have a moment, click on the link provided www.funrun.com  and enter your specific access code (found on the front of the booklet that went home in your child's Kid Connection Envelope) that has already been set up for you. The link will take you to the Banks Road Fun Run site where you can make donations online ("Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy" as the kids say). 
Also, Boosterthon/Fun Run t-shirts will be going home for each student tomorrow afternoon (free of charge).