Happy Monday! I trust that all of you had a blessed Thanksgiving, and enjoyed time with family and friends.
Here is a look at the week ahead:
In Math, we will continue looking at multiplication. On Monday, we will focus on patterns in multiplication. Tuesday we will look at multiples of 10. Wednesday and Thursday we will begin multiplying two-digit by two-digit numbers. This concept will require fluency in basic facts. If your son or daughter struggles with these, please continue practicing basic fact recognition at home. Constant practice is one of the best ways to improve fact recognition.
In Science, we will focus in our ecosystems and taking a deeper look at them, and preparing for our Eagle Days Field Trip that will be on Friday.
In Reading, our concepts we will focus on are Main Idea and Details, Author's Purpose, and Flashbacks. To practice these concepts, we will be using the story Finding the Titanic which is in our Reading book.
In English Language Arts, we will focus on verb tenses/ On Monday, we will focus on present tense. Tuesday we will focus on past tense, and Wednesday we will focus on future tense. As a strategy, we will look at writing using different genres to help focus in on an author's purpose.
As a reminder, our field trip is on Friday. We will leave right after the bell (around 8:00 or 8:05), so please ensure that your child is here on time that day. Your child will need to bring a sack lunch with a drink that has a lid. Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately. We will be walking a lot, and the weather looks to be rather cool. If your child has not yet turned in their permission slip, please make sure it is turned in promptly.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
November 19-20
Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope all of you enjoy your long weekend. Here is a look at our short week.
In Science, we will be looking at the living and non-living things in pond, forest, and prairie ecosystems.
In Math, we will review and have a test on Tuesday.
In Language Arts, we voted on our persuasive color papers and the winner is... BLUE! Our class was persuaded by the blue papers! Way to go Blues! We will publish and hang our drafts in the hallway. Encourage your child to wear as much blue as possible on Tuesday!
In Reading, we will look at chapter three of the Fairy-Tale Detectives and complete various comprehension activities.
No Spelling this week due to the short week.
Progress Reports went home today.
Have a blessed holiday weekend!
In Science, we will be looking at the living and non-living things in pond, forest, and prairie ecosystems.
In Math, we will review and have a test on Tuesday.
In Language Arts, we voted on our persuasive color papers and the winner is... BLUE! Our class was persuaded by the blue papers! Way to go Blues! We will publish and hang our drafts in the hallway. Encourage your child to wear as much blue as possible on Tuesday!
In Reading, we will look at chapter three of the Fairy-Tale Detectives and complete various comprehension activities.
No Spelling this week due to the short week.
Progress Reports went home today.
Have a blessed holiday weekend!
Monday, November 12, 2012
November 12- 16
Happy fall! I hope that all of you had a great weekend, even though we experienced our first taste of fall weather this Sunday! On that note, please be sure and make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for recess. We will go outside unless it is raining or snowing! BRRRRRRRRRRR!
This week in Math, we have a test scheduled over multiplication using two digit by one digit numbers, and estimation. Students can work through the review on page 215 to study for the test. Again, practicing and knowing our multiplication facts are essential the further we get into our school year. We will begin grading and recording the 100 fact tests, as well. After the test, we will continue multiplying bigger numbers, and work with problem solving using patterns.
In Science, we will continue our unit in conservation looking into organisms, populations, communities, living and non-living things, and ecosystems. Most of these activities we go outside and observe the ecosystem around us.
In Reading this week, we will continue using our Fab 5 with their independent reading book. Again, this is just a 5 sentence summary. The only catch is that the summary can only, and must be 5 sentences. We will complete Fab 5 every time we begin reading to refresh our memories over what they have read. We will evaluate our Reader's Notebook entries today and have the students notice any trends in their responses, as well more guided questions. We will be reading The Cranky Bear as a class, and evaluating comprehension and character analysis.
In Language Arts, students will begin and finish a short research project through next Tuesday. Students will focus on how to take double column notes, looking at main idea and details. Each student will be researching facts about a certain color, that will be chosen by taking a personality test. The students will then develop an opinion piece about their color using at least three facts as to why students should choose their color. We will present our papers and vote on the most persuasive color on Monday, November 19, and wear the chosen color on Tuesday, November 20. Short research projects and argumentative or persuasive writing are a big push in the new teaching standards. Be looking for more of those.
In Spelling, we will begin using cross-curricular lists. This will hopefully promote a better understanding of the words and concepts in the other areas of the curriculum. This weeks words focus on math.
This week in Math, we have a test scheduled over multiplication using two digit by one digit numbers, and estimation. Students can work through the review on page 215 to study for the test. Again, practicing and knowing our multiplication facts are essential the further we get into our school year. We will begin grading and recording the 100 fact tests, as well. After the test, we will continue multiplying bigger numbers, and work with problem solving using patterns.
In Science, we will continue our unit in conservation looking into organisms, populations, communities, living and non-living things, and ecosystems. Most of these activities we go outside and observe the ecosystem around us.
In Reading this week, we will continue using our Fab 5 with their independent reading book. Again, this is just a 5 sentence summary. The only catch is that the summary can only, and must be 5 sentences. We will complete Fab 5 every time we begin reading to refresh our memories over what they have read. We will evaluate our Reader's Notebook entries today and have the students notice any trends in their responses, as well more guided questions. We will be reading The Cranky Bear as a class, and evaluating comprehension and character analysis.
In Language Arts, students will begin and finish a short research project through next Tuesday. Students will focus on how to take double column notes, looking at main idea and details. Each student will be researching facts about a certain color, that will be chosen by taking a personality test. The students will then develop an opinion piece about their color using at least three facts as to why students should choose their color. We will present our papers and vote on the most persuasive color on Monday, November 19, and wear the chosen color on Tuesday, November 20. Short research projects and argumentative or persuasive writing are a big push in the new teaching standards. Be looking for more of those.
In Spelling, we will begin using cross-curricular lists. This will hopefully promote a better understanding of the words and concepts in the other areas of the curriculum. This weeks words focus on math.
Monday, November 5, 2012
November 5- 9
I hope that all of you enjoyed earning a much needed extra hour this weekend! It is hard to believe that November is already here.
This week in Math, we will begin taking multiplication to a new level. We will start with 2 digit by 1 digit multiplying, and move on to estimating products. We will also look into the associative property of multiplication. By Friday, we will start preparing for the next test, which will be next week. As you can tell, multiplication is still a large part of our studies, and additional work is still needed for some students. check out the websites on the sidebar to help your child practice math facts in a fun way at home!
In Science this week, we will begin our unit in Conservation. So far, the students seem to be very excited about this hands-on approach to learning about nature in Missouri. Our Spelling list actually comes from our first lesson in the conservation unit!
In Reading, we will work on locating the difference between fact and opinion in statements given. Our goal this week is also to help students to learn summarizing techniques. For example, we will introduce the Fab 5 to assist with summary writing. This strategy asks students to retell what they have read, but they must, and can only use 5 sentences. This encourages deeper thinking for those who choose to state only the bare minimum, as well as curbs some of our wordier writers! We will then move on to the 5 questions every summary must answer. Who? Wants what? But? (What happened, or gets in the way? Aka- The problem) So? (What does the character do to solve the problem?) Then? (How does it end? How is the problem solved?) Every summary will need to answer these important questions to be considered complete. We will use shorter stories that we have read earlier in the year, or that may be new to practice these strategies for summarizing.
English Language Arts piggy backs Reading. We will be working on Opinion Writing pieces. We will discuss what is important to students as individuals, to promote their feelings to show through in their writing. If it is not important to them, how can they persuade others to agree or disagree? We will be using the election, and TV commercials to help introduce the theory of persuasion. Students will be asked to write using three reasons, why they might make a good class president after reading the story Grace for President. We will also have a prompt at the end of the week that should promote strong opinion! Look for a note later in the week about this prompt! Opinion writing can be a tough task for students at this age, even if they are very argumentative by nature! The catch for most writer's is the usage of evidence or facts to back up their writing. Encourage your child to argue, but only if they can back it up with three strong facts! :)
As always, have a great week. Contact me with any questions or concerns.
This week in Math, we will begin taking multiplication to a new level. We will start with 2 digit by 1 digit multiplying, and move on to estimating products. We will also look into the associative property of multiplication. By Friday, we will start preparing for the next test, which will be next week. As you can tell, multiplication is still a large part of our studies, and additional work is still needed for some students. check out the websites on the sidebar to help your child practice math facts in a fun way at home!
In Science this week, we will begin our unit in Conservation. So far, the students seem to be very excited about this hands-on approach to learning about nature in Missouri. Our Spelling list actually comes from our first lesson in the conservation unit!
In Reading, we will work on locating the difference between fact and opinion in statements given. Our goal this week is also to help students to learn summarizing techniques. For example, we will introduce the Fab 5 to assist with summary writing. This strategy asks students to retell what they have read, but they must, and can only use 5 sentences. This encourages deeper thinking for those who choose to state only the bare minimum, as well as curbs some of our wordier writers! We will then move on to the 5 questions every summary must answer. Who? Wants what? But? (What happened, or gets in the way? Aka- The problem) So? (What does the character do to solve the problem?) Then? (How does it end? How is the problem solved?) Every summary will need to answer these important questions to be considered complete. We will use shorter stories that we have read earlier in the year, or that may be new to practice these strategies for summarizing.
English Language Arts piggy backs Reading. We will be working on Opinion Writing pieces. We will discuss what is important to students as individuals, to promote their feelings to show through in their writing. If it is not important to them, how can they persuade others to agree or disagree? We will be using the election, and TV commercials to help introduce the theory of persuasion. Students will be asked to write using three reasons, why they might make a good class president after reading the story Grace for President. We will also have a prompt at the end of the week that should promote strong opinion! Look for a note later in the week about this prompt! Opinion writing can be a tough task for students at this age, even if they are very argumentative by nature! The catch for most writer's is the usage of evidence or facts to back up their writing. Encourage your child to argue, but only if they can back it up with three strong facts! :)
As always, have a great week. Contact me with any questions or concerns.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)