Friday, November 20, 2009
Spelling
Spelling Packet 10 will come home today. There is no Spelling Test next week. Spelling Packet 10 will be due the Wednesday when we return from Thanksgiving. The test will be that Thursday.
Friday, November 20, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
I apologize that there have not been any new posts in the last two weeks. They changed some of the settings on the website and I was unable copy and paste my draft as I usually do. I’ve since figured out a way to work around this. As you can see, there are still a few kinks I must work out. Last week, the blog draft went home with your child as a hard copy.
IMPORTANT DATES:
11/25-27 Thanksgiving Recess
11/24 Unit 4 Math Quiz
12/3 Tentative Unit 4 Math Test
12/18 Holiday Party
12/26-1/3 Winter Break
MATH
The Unit 4 quiz & test will strictly test on division using the traditional method.
Please continue to ensure that students are reviewing all of their math facts for at least 15 minutes a night. They can use any method they choose including flash cards or computer programs. Mathfactscafe.com is a great resource for this. I will be giving you more great websites for practicing math facts as we move through the school year.
READING
Next week: We will finish up our Electronic Book talks.
The week after break: Students will be required to take an accelerated reader test with each book they finish in Readers’ Workshop as well as complete a simple entry including summary of the book in an electronic reading log. This will be completed here at school.
Concepts that will be covered during the mini lessons:
Decoding Unfamiliar or Difficult Text
Retaining what is read
Engaging in purposeful discussions about the books they are reading
As you monitor your child’s home reading, continue to ask them questions about what they are reading, especially questions that practice the strategies they are learning in class that particular week. The more children read, and the more they practice these strategies, the better readers they will become.
WRITING
We are now working on fiction stories in Writers’ Workshop. The following topics will be focused on during mini lessons:
Organization (including paragraphing, leads, & endings)
Word Choice
Conventions (including punctuation, capitalization)
How can you help your child be a successful writer next week? At home, continue to brainstorm with your child possible fiction story ideas. While/after they’ve completed their spelling homework, help them edit for punctuation and capitalization.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES
Unit 2: American Indians and Their Land. Concepts include:
Migration routes of the first Americans
Adapting to different environments
Natural resources
History of the Sioux
With our new social studies program, the units are incredibly short and simple. We will usually finish one a week, at which time the students will be assessed on what they’ve learned. The assessments are meant to be a picture of what the students have learned during the lesson. There is really no need for them to prepare at home-unless I notify you otherwise.
The first assessment was given on Thursday as an open book assessment. I hope to have these scored and returned to students next week.
Students will continue to learn how to label all of our United States. They will be given ample time in class to accomplish this task over the next couple of months once they have completed each lesson from our Social Studies Alive text. Please check in periodically with your child to see how they are progressing.
I apologize that there have not been any new posts in the last two weeks. They changed some of the settings on the website and I was unable copy and paste my draft as I usually do. I’ve since figured out a way to work around this. As you can see, there are still a few kinks I must work out. Last week, the blog draft went home with your child as a hard copy.
IMPORTANT DATES:
11/25-27 Thanksgiving Recess
11/24 Unit 4 Math Quiz
12/3 Tentative Unit 4 Math Test
12/18 Holiday Party
12/26-1/3 Winter Break
MATH
The Unit 4 quiz & test will strictly test on division using the traditional method.
Please continue to ensure that students are reviewing all of their math facts for at least 15 minutes a night. They can use any method they choose including flash cards or computer programs. Mathfactscafe.com is a great resource for this. I will be giving you more great websites for practicing math facts as we move through the school year.
READING
Next week: We will finish up our Electronic Book talks.
The week after break: Students will be required to take an accelerated reader test with each book they finish in Readers’ Workshop as well as complete a simple entry including summary of the book in an electronic reading log. This will be completed here at school.
Concepts that will be covered during the mini lessons:
Decoding Unfamiliar or Difficult Text
Retaining what is read
Engaging in purposeful discussions about the books they are reading
As you monitor your child’s home reading, continue to ask them questions about what they are reading, especially questions that practice the strategies they are learning in class that particular week. The more children read, and the more they practice these strategies, the better readers they will become.
WRITING
We are now working on fiction stories in Writers’ Workshop. The following topics will be focused on during mini lessons:
Organization (including paragraphing, leads, & endings)
Word Choice
Conventions (including punctuation, capitalization)
How can you help your child be a successful writer next week? At home, continue to brainstorm with your child possible fiction story ideas. While/after they’ve completed their spelling homework, help them edit for punctuation and capitalization.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES
Unit 2: American Indians and Their Land. Concepts include:
Migration routes of the first Americans
Adapting to different environments
Natural resources
History of the Sioux
With our new social studies program, the units are incredibly short and simple. We will usually finish one a week, at which time the students will be assessed on what they’ve learned. The assessments are meant to be a picture of what the students have learned during the lesson. There is really no need for them to prepare at home-unless I notify you otherwise.
The first assessment was given on Thursday as an open book assessment. I hope to have these scored and returned to students next week.
Students will continue to learn how to label all of our United States. They will be given ample time in class to accomplish this task over the next couple of months once they have completed each lesson from our Social Studies Alive text. Please check in periodically with your child to see how they are progressing.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
IMPORTANT DATES:
11/8 Community Open House
11/10 Dad’s Eat and Run Lunch
11/11 Parent/Teacher Conferences 5-8pm
11/12 Unit 3 Math Test Tentative
11/12 Parent/Teacher Conferences 1-4 & 5-8pm (Students ½ Day)
11/16 Fire Safety Presentation during school
11/25-27 Thanksgiving Recess
MATH
Please make sure to send the Unit 2 math test back to school with your child to be filed in their portfolio. The Unit 3 quiz will be sent home at the beginning of next week.
Next week, we will cover the following concepts in Unit 3:
Tessellations
Angles of Polygons
. The test for Unit 3 is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, November 12 of next week.
Please continue to ensure that students are reviewing all of their math facts for at least 15 minutes a night. They can use any method they choose including flash cards or computer programs. Mathfactscafe.com is a great resource for this. I will be giving you more great websites for practicing math facts as we move through the school year.
READING
Next week, in Reading, students will take a step back from Readers’ Workshop to get a little creative…and technical. Each student will be assigned to create an electronic book talk to entice their classmates to read a book that they are reading or have read so far this year in Readers’ Workshop. Your child will create their book talk using one of the following three tools on the computer:
1. Audacity
2. Photo Story
3. Movie Maker
Student will present their book talk to the class once complete. As the year progresses, students will have the opportunity to use each of the three tools to create a book talk.
As you monitor your child’s home reading, continue to ask them questions about what they are reading, especially questions that practice the strategies they are learning in class that particular week. The more children read, and the more they practice these strategies, the better readers they will become.
WRITING
As we did not quite finish our first personal narratives this week, students will begin showing their talent as we work next week on our first fiction stories during our Writing Workshop. They will begin by creating “seed” stories/ideas in their writing notebooks which will eventually be used to create a final piece.
How can you help your child be a successful writer next week? At home, continue to brainstorm with your child possible “seed topics” they could write about during writing workshop. Topics to consider are small but special stories that have really happened to them.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES
Science tests will be scored and sent home at the beginning of next week.
We will complete our first social studies unit of geography. Concepts include:
Labeling a map
Absolute location
Physical features
With our new social studies program, the units are incredibly short and simple. We will usually finish one a week, at which time the students will be assessed on what they’ve learned. The assessments are meant to be a picture of what the students have learned during the lesson. There is really no need for them to prepare at home-unless I notify you otherwise.
IMPORTANT DATES:
11/8 Community Open House
11/10 Dad’s Eat and Run Lunch
11/11 Parent/Teacher Conferences 5-8pm
11/12 Unit 3 Math Test Tentative
11/12 Parent/Teacher Conferences 1-4 & 5-8pm (Students ½ Day)
11/16 Fire Safety Presentation during school
11/25-27 Thanksgiving Recess
MATH
Please make sure to send the Unit 2 math test back to school with your child to be filed in their portfolio. The Unit 3 quiz will be sent home at the beginning of next week.
Next week, we will cover the following concepts in Unit 3:
Tessellations
Angles of Polygons
. The test for Unit 3 is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, November 12 of next week.
Please continue to ensure that students are reviewing all of their math facts for at least 15 minutes a night. They can use any method they choose including flash cards or computer programs. Mathfactscafe.com is a great resource for this. I will be giving you more great websites for practicing math facts as we move through the school year.
READING
Next week, in Reading, students will take a step back from Readers’ Workshop to get a little creative…and technical. Each student will be assigned to create an electronic book talk to entice their classmates to read a book that they are reading or have read so far this year in Readers’ Workshop. Your child will create their book talk using one of the following three tools on the computer:
1. Audacity
2. Photo Story
3. Movie Maker
Student will present their book talk to the class once complete. As the year progresses, students will have the opportunity to use each of the three tools to create a book talk.
As you monitor your child’s home reading, continue to ask them questions about what they are reading, especially questions that practice the strategies they are learning in class that particular week. The more children read, and the more they practice these strategies, the better readers they will become.
WRITING
As we did not quite finish our first personal narratives this week, students will begin showing their talent as we work next week on our first fiction stories during our Writing Workshop. They will begin by creating “seed” stories/ideas in their writing notebooks which will eventually be used to create a final piece.
How can you help your child be a successful writer next week? At home, continue to brainstorm with your child possible “seed topics” they could write about during writing workshop. Topics to consider are small but special stories that have really happened to them.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES
Science tests will be scored and sent home at the beginning of next week.
We will complete our first social studies unit of geography. Concepts include:
Labeling a map
Absolute location
Physical features
With our new social studies program, the units are incredibly short and simple. We will usually finish one a week, at which time the students will be assessed on what they’ve learned. The assessments are meant to be a picture of what the students have learned during the lesson. There is really no need for them to prepare at home-unless I notify you otherwise.
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