A Giant Pumpkin!

On Thursday we had a very special visitor. Mr. Lancaster brought his giant pumpkin to school for the children to see. At 1,954 pounds it was the second place winner at the Topsfield Fair. The children had a chance to touch the pumpkin and ask Mr. Lancaster questions. 
Parents, ask your children what they learned about this giant pumpkin. I think you will be as amazed as we were :) 

After, the children wrote in their writing journals what they had learned about the pumpkin. 

Fall Tree

At the beginning of the year our class adopted a tree in the courtyard. Each season, we will observe the tree and notice how it is changing. Last week we visited our tree.

While observing the tree the the students completed an observation sheet. Here are a couple of samples.

After observing the tree, the students shared some of their observations and we made a class chart. Everyone agreed, the tree has changed a lot this season.

Today we took a picture under our tree. It has really changed since last week! 

What do you think our tree will look like in another week?
Essential Questions:  What does our tree look like in fall? How has our tree changed from summer to fall?

Adding Numbers to 1,000!

Our class has been busy learning how to add numbers to 1,000. We started by using a place value mat and base ten pieces to build each number in the algorithm.

After we became comfortable using the base-ten pieces we practiced on white boards. Students took turns solving problems on the Smartboard and explaining to their classmates the procedure for solving algorithms.. The students have done a great job and really have the hang of it.

2. NBT. B.6 Understand place value.

2. NBT. B.6 Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract.

Depending on Others

Happy October! It is hard to believe we are already into the second month of the school year. The students had a great first month and have been busy in the classroom.

In our first social studies unit, Depending On Others, the students have been learning about people we depend on. After brainstorming a list of people we depend on, each student selected one person and decorated a blank cutout to represent that person. The students did a great job and these really dress up our bulletin board!