Our week was short, but as usual, we got a lot accomplished...read on to find out!
Language Arts
This week we continued working on During Reading Strategies...I used the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins to model using visual imagery, and then the kids read an excerpt from Shadow Ball: History of the Negro Leagues. The kids had to use their senses to gain a clearer understanding of the text. I was very impressed with their work! This week we are headed into inferring...this is the most difficult strategy so we will spend a good part of this week with it (and then carry on throughout the year.) Later this week the kids will take the county's Global Scholar test on the computer...this will help me figure out a reading level that is appropriate for each student. We will do some work in novels soon after!
I introduced the first "pit stop" of the writing process this week...many kids have been drafting and filling their Writer's Notebooks with lots of ideas...some have a "finished piece" so it was time to introduce the "Peer Conference Pit Stop". The first stop on the "highway" to publishing! This week I will introduce the other pit stops...Editing, Revising, Teacher Conference, and then the most exciting one: PUBLISHING! I LOVE reading and listening to the stories and ideas your children write...I can't wait for you to see them!
This coming week I will begin the instruction of (or review of) cursive handwriting...all lowercase and uppercase letters will be taught (reviewed) to ensure proper formation. Please visit the site Zaner Bloser, which can be found on the side bar menu of my blog. It allows the kids to make a handwriting worksheet using their Word Study words or any other words they choose!
Math
Multi-step word problems...that is our focus...for those that need to concentrate on the dissecting of the word problem, we'll work on that this week...for those that can dissect a multi-step problem independently, they will write their own multi-step problems! We are headed into multiplication soon....so if your child still needs work on subtraction or addition facts...get them working!! Each student that has not mastered the addition and subtraction basic facts should be practicing their facts at least three times a week. On Thursday I took the kids to the computer lab to show them some websites that are on the sidebar of the blog that are good for fact practice. Please help your child carve out 10 minutes at least three times a week for this practice. Thanks!
Social Studies
The kids took an assessment on Thursday...they did very well! The test was set up as a trip around the world, so the kids had to apply the information they've been learning...quite a few kids said, "That was fun!" (Music to my ears!) This week we are going to start talking about features of a region...the geography of the land, the natural and physical features found there, the resources found there, and the human-made features found there. We will do some research and create State Brochures with the information we extract! It is a fun project your kids will enjoy. I believe we will have the COW in our room for this project...NOOOO, not a mooing cow...the "Cart on Wheels" that has 25 laptop computers! I'm excited for this opportunity...more to come on that!
Miscellaneous
Thank you so much to the people that have donated tissues, hand sanitizer, etc. We are all set for now, so I'll let you know when our supplies get low.
If anyone out there has a connection to cheap printer cartridges, I'm interested, so let me know. The county does not support classroom printers after the first cartridge...too expensive. So anyone with an extra coupon or a friend that works at Staples, throw me an email!! Thanks!
Also...I am sending Remind101 texts/emails each time I post a blog update so that you are not constantly checking to see if there is an update. If for any reason you signed up for Remind101 and are not getting announcements, please let me know.
I am thoroughly enjoying your kids...thanks for sending them each day ready to learn! Have a great week!
Here are some pictures from our week...
Taking our Social Studies assessment!
We worked in expert groups to research a popular US landmark and to determine how far it was from our home using tools such as rulers and the map scales. Then we presented to the class.
Here they are working together in their expert groups preparing to teach the rest of the class!
