Monday, October 19, 2015

Fall Break










We learned about the different parts of a tree. Students learned what each part of the tree does. Ask your child if he played a part in our tree!










What we are learning in school:
Language Arts:
Students worked on inferring while I read them a story. Students practiced using their backpack knowledge (things they already knew) with facts from the text to figure something out.
Math: We continued working on multiplication this week! So far we have covered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 10s. Please help your child practice these at home. I will be coming up with an incentive for students who master all of their facts. I will send more info about that home after fall break!
Important Dates:
October 20 & 21 – Parent Teacher Conferences
October 21 – No school for students
October 22 & 23 – Fall Break
October 26 – Field trip forms and $7 due
October 26-29 – MAP testing (more info about this at parent teacher conferences). Please do not schedule doctor appointments for these few days.
October 29 (9:05) – Honor Roll
October 30 – Field trip to Camp Mack
November 11 (9:30) – Veterans Day program
November 17 – 2nd quarter midterms
December 18 – 2nd quarter ends
ISTEP – Feb. 29-March 11
IREAD – March 14 – 18
ISTEP - April 18-May 6

Thursday, October 15, 2015

October 19





 Our last group finally had a chance to share their play! They did a great job acting (and dressing) like their characters!




Our class team, the Amazing Eagles. Ask your child about our team cheer!

We had fun celebrating Christopher Columbus Day. We learned that Christopher Columbus never made it to the United States of America, he actually first landed on San Salvador.



What we are learning in school:
Language Arts:
This week we worked on making connections and inferring. Students practiced reading a text and then used their background knowledge and facts from the text to infer (figure something out).
Math: We have started practicing multiplication this week! So far we have covered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 10s. Please help your child practice these at home. I will be coming up with an incentive for students who master all of their facts. I will send more info about that home after fall break!

Genius Hour: This week the Walkathon was during our Genius Hour time, so we did not do any research on our projects. Our class won a team spirit award at the Walkathon!
Important Dates:
October 20 & 21 – Parent Teacher Conferences
October 22 & 23 – Fall Break
October 26 – Field trip forms and $7 due
October 26-29 – MAP testing (more info about this at parent teacher conferences). Please do not schedule doctor appointments for these few days.
October 29 (9:05) – Honor Roll
October 30 – Field trip to Camp Mack
November 11 (9:30) – Veterans Day program
November 17 – 2nd quarter midterms
December 18 – 2nd quarter ends
ISTEP – Feb. 29-March 11
IREAD – March 14 – 18
ISTEP - April 18-May 6

Thursday, October 8, 2015

October 9

What we are learning in school:
Language Arts:
This week we worked on making connections and inferring. Students practiced reading a text and then used their background knowledge and facts from the text to infer (figure something out). You can use the attached paper to practice these reading strategies at home.
Math: We worked on subtracting and solving word problems with money this week. We will have a test on Monday over money. Please remind your child to practice for our test by completing some of the papers he/she brought home today.

Genius Hour: This week we started learning how to use our Genius Hour folders when researching. We tried to do some research on the ipads, but had a rough start. We will continue researching for several weeks, so hopefully next week will go smoother! If your child wants to research for their Genius Hour project at home, they can. Just remind them that they need to keep track of where they are finding their information so they can cite it later. The website log in the folder would be a good way to do this. We will continue researching on Tuesday. Students who researched at home will want to make sure they bring back their folder and notebook with information they found.

Syria: Our play from last week was about a family that immigrates to America. We discussed why people immigrate and talked about how people are still immigrating today. One of our discussion topics was the refugees from Syria. Our class was very concerned about the people who are leaving their homes and don’t have shelter or extra clothing. Several students wrote proposals for me on how our class could help these people. We are going to start off small by putting a jar in our classroom for any extra change that students want to bring in. We will collect money throughout this semester. I will look for a reliable organization to donate the money. Your children inspire me with their caring spirits!
Important Dates:
October 12 – PTO money due (our class will win a special treat if we bring in the most money!)
October 13 – First grading period ends (reading incentive paper due)
October 13 – PTO Walkathon
October 20 & 21 – Parent Teacher Conferences
October 22 & 23 – Fall Break
October 29 (9:05) – Honor Roll
ISTEP – Feb. 29-March 11
IREAD – March 14 – 18
ISTEP - April 18-May 6



Spelling Words
1. destroyed
2. displaying
3. delays
4. enjoying
5. applied
6. studies
7. supplying
8. multiplying
9. another
10. number



We had a fun time listening to R. Friend share some of her stories with us!



Some of the students from our class got to get up on stage at Camp Out With a Good Book!

We had a competition to see who could write the best hook (an introduction to your story that makes the reader want to keep reading).

Friday, October 2, 2015

October 2




Students finished presenting on their Native American tribes. We had a great time hearing our classmates share what they had learned.





What we are learning in school:

Language Arts:
This week students worked on reading fluently. We focused on pausing when reading. We learned that we pause when we reach a period or comma. Students practiced pausing when reading a play about a family that moves to America from Poland. We had a fun time discussing immigration and reasons people move to the United States.

Math: We started working with money this week! Students reviewed how to count coins and bills. We also began adding money. Next week we will work on solving money problems that involve subtraction. One way you can help your child practice is by letting them count out the money to give to a cashier.

Genius Hour: This week students completed their Genius Hour proposals. Students had their proposals approved by me and are now ready to begin researching! We will learn about the research process and how to record where we found our information next week. I know students are very excited to begin working on their projects, but it might be best if they wait to do anything at home until we have learned how to record our research information. Students do not need to do anything for their Genius Hour project at home, but after I have gotten them started, they are welcome to continue the process at home with your permission. We will have allotted times for researching and working on our projects each week.

Important Dates:
October 6 (6:30-7:45) – Camp Out with a Good Book (see flyer that was sent home)
October 13 – First grading period ends (reading incentive paper due)
October 20 & 21 – Parent Teacher Conferences
October 22 & 23 – Fall Break
October 29 (9:05) – Honor Roll
ISTEP – Feb. 29-March 11
IREAD – March 14 – 18
ISTEP - April 18-May 6

Spelling Words
1. knives
2. scarves
3. hooves
4. women
5. teeth
6. geese
7. sheep
8. scissors
9. before
10. bring