Welcome to life post-eclipse!  We watched numerous feeds across the country on NASA's live feed, some exciting, some not so exciting.  We saw the sky take on a different light, but we were very disappointed that it didn't get as dark as we expected.  The booklet we explored helped us understand a little more about the Earth's rotation around the sun and the moon's rotation around the Earth.

In academics this week we are reviewing mental math strategies for problem solving.  We have been practicing creating word problems, discussing their situation and matching equation, and then solving using a strategy.  We've practiced making a ten by taking enough from the other partner to make a ten and then adding the ones left over.  For example,  8 + 7 = ?  can be thought of as (8 + 2) + 5.  Flexibility in math thinking is important for a strong math background.  We also have been looking at equality as the "same value" on each side of the equation.  We practiced with number trains. We continue this week with partners, totals, missing partner, and missing total.

In Reading, we are asking and answering questions as we retell the beginning, middle and end of a story.  We are writing narratives using strategies.  We have begun to work in independent work stations that support the standards being taught while others have a guided reading group.  We are becoming independent workers who can synergize with others to promote higher comprehension.

Our Science Unit involves investigation of solids, liquids and gases.

Hope you have a great week!