March 30- April 4

Warmer Weather

I am so glad that the weather is warming up, even if just for a day or two. It will come to stay before too long.  

We have only 9 weeks of school left!  Counting days, that may sound like a lot, but I cannot believe we are this close to the end of the school year.  That being said, it is important to note that the infamous MAP testing will begin soon.  We will begin our testing the week of April 28.  We will test Tuesday through Thursday in Communication Arts.  The next week will begin Math.  Therefore, our focus to the do our best on the test begins this week.  Look for a note with some tips to help at home this week.  

In Math, students will continue working with fractions.  We will continue work with equivalent fractions, and develop our skills into using fractions with line plots.  

We will swing back into Science this week.  Students will explore the world of matter that is all around them, and even how to measure it.  We will complete some investigations this week, which is always a big hit.  

In Spelling, we will have our test on Monday (today).  After that, we will focus on MAP test spelling, which involves multiple choice items looking for the correctly spelled, or incorrectly spelled word.  This will take some practice.  This also means that you won't see a spelling list for quite a while.  

In Reading, we will continue with our Literature Circle studies, and small group work.  The students really seem to enjoy reading and discussing in these small groups.  

In English Language Arts, we will begin focusing our energy on MAP test practice.  We have ways that we are going to approach this.  First, students will be given a new test test every other day until the MAP test.  Hopefully, the reminder of good test taking strategies will help students feel more comfortable by the actual test time.  Second, we will begin reviewing different test elements, and taking practice tests.  Another big focus will be on test-taking vocabulary.  Hopefully, knowing these words will help ease their anxiety during testing.  

As a heads up, another note will be going home this week about our field trip.  We will be going to Steamboat Arabia in Kansas City on May 13.  More information will head home this week.  

Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions or comments.  Email is best.  akountz@midbuchanan.k12.mo.us.

March 24- 28

School Days

As the chill of winter continues into the spring, please remember to send your child to school dressed warm!  We will go out to recess unless the temperature is below freezing.  BRRR!  Some days it feels like it even if the temperature doesn't say that it is.  

This week in Math, we will prepare for a test.  On Monday, we will look at math practices.  On Tuesday, we will review the unit to prepare for our test in Wednesday.  On Thursday, we will begin our new unit of comparing and ordering fractions.

In Social Studies, we will finish up chapter 7.  We will receive a study guide on Wednesday to prepare for our test on Friday.  

In Spelling, students will receive a new list today. This unit, students will focus on ew and oo spelling patterns.  

In Reading, we will focus on the climax of a story.  This is the part of the story where it begins to turn around.  We will use several picture books to illustrate this text element.

In English Language Arts, we will focus on grammar practices such as; ordering adjectives, complete sentences, prepositional phrases, progressive verb tenses, and relative pronouns and adverbs.  

Have a great week!

Quarter Four Begins

Happy Monday!

Good morning.  I hope that everyone enjoyed a beautiful Saturday, and slightly cold Sunday.  The week ahead looks like it is going to be full of nice weather.

This week in Math, students will add and subtract mixed number with like denominators, and practice with fractions and mixed numbers. We will then have a "Quick Quiz" to see how the students are doing with adding fractions, and mixed numbers.  (This is a 5 question quiz just to see where they are at.)  We will then begin multiplying fractions by a whole number.  So far, the grades that I have seen from the new book's assignments have been pretty good.  I am pleased with the student's transition.

On Monday, students will begin preparing for a Social Studies test on Wednesday.  On Thursday, we will begin chapter 7 in Social Studies, looking at Missouri in the 1950's.  

In Reading, students will practice work with noticing genre of a text.  We will first try this by studying books on our shelves.  Later in the week, students will be given short passages to determine the type of text that is written. 

In Spelling, we will give out  new list of words today.  These are the words that will be used for the Spell-a-Thon test on Friday, for those students choosing to participate.  This unit focuses on /ou/ and /ow/ spelling patterns.  There will be NO bonus words this unit.  

In English Language Arts, students will practice opinion writing.  We will look at advertisements that demonstrate persuasive writing in the real world.  

The end of the quarter in March 18.  Grade Cards will go home on March 20.  Look for those.  The last quarter begins.  I am becoming sad already.  

Have a great week!  

March 10- 14

The Last Full Week of the Quarter

Happy Monday!  I hope that everyone had a great weekend!

This week in Math, we will dive into fractions.  We will study like denominators, and mixed numbers.  Hopefully the new Math is going well at home.  I have asked the students to take their notebooks home daily so parents have an example of the lesson with completed work if students are in need of help.  I know some questions are challenging, and require whole application of skills, but I think that all in all, the students are doing well!

In Social Studies, we will look at primary resources, reference materials, unequal rights, and growth in Missouri.  We will wind up our unit this week, so we will begin preparing for a test next week.  

In Reading this week, we will study the genres of historical fiction and biographies. This ties in well with our study in Social Studies.  We will use a historical fiction book about a young slave girl, and a picture book biography of Anne Frank.  We will study the text's features, and how to pull information from the text to answer questions.

In English Language Arts, students continue their work on writing fluency.  They will be able to select from previously introduced strategies to promote thought and build time at the task of writing. 

In Spelling, we will work on /j/ spelling patterns, ch endings, and will prepare for a test on Friday.  

Our quarter end has moved to next week, but our AR points are still due March 13.  10 is still the required amount.  Most students have already achieved this, but are still working towards goals of doubling or tripling their points. 

As some may know, our High School Special Education Teacher, Lori Godfrey, has passed away.  Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.  So that staff may attend, we will dismiss at 1:00 on Wednesday, March 12.  We have a half day(Noon out) on Friday.  Hopefully we can all enjoy a beautiful weather week!  

  

March 4-7

A little late...

Sorry this is late.  We had a few technical difficulties yesterday.  We have a short week this week due to our snow day on Monday.  

In Math, we will begin using a different resource.  Students will have copied pages rather than a book.  These pages include the lesson, and instruction, as well as problems that we worked on together in class.  These lessons are to be placed on their binders, and their binders are to go home any night that they have homework to be used as a resource.  Their lessons will consist of a page on the day's lesson, and the back page is a spiral review.  (Concepts that students have learned earlier in the year.)  Hopefully this change flows smoothly.  All of that being said, our lessons this week will cover area and perimeter, solving measurement problems, using mathematical practices (so a review of using measurement in daily life), and on Thursday we will have an area and perimeter quiz.  On Friday, we will begin fractions.  This can be a challenge for some students, but we will start off slowly, and hopefully students will learn fractions through their own discovery, making the learning process more meaningful.  

In Social Studies, we reviewed yesterday, and we have a test today, Wednesday.  On Thursday we will begin chapter 6 learning about our state's growth, slavery, and plantation life.  This topic is a tough one to hear about, but I love that the students quickly understand the mistakes of our nation's past.  We end the week learning about the Civil War, and its ties to Missouri being a border state.  

In Reading, we are working on a small group project continuing our lessons on sequencing with flashback.  We have three small groups that are reading a picture book that have flashbacks.  Students will create 7 or so event cards.  They will then read the book to the class, and the class will work together to place the cards in sequential order.

In Spelling, we received a new list.  For this unit, we will focus on silent letters, homophones, and /k/ sounds in words.  We will be ready for a test next week.

In English Language Arts, we will continue to work on fluency with writing.  Students will be writing from the point of view of different objects.  This usually leads to a pretty fun writing piece.