Feb. 23-27

I feel like it's been a long time since I've posted. Sorry for the delay. This month has really flown by! This coming week will be spent, in part, reviewing for the ISTEP. We begin testing on March 3. (There's no school for students on March 2.) Also, this week, we'll be continuing our literature circles. I chose 3 novels based on traditional types of stories. Ella Enchanted is a Cinderella story; Sea of Monsters is based on Greek mythology mixed with present-day elements; a group is reading Poppy to find elements of fables. The students seem very excited about their new books. In writing, we've started and will continue to work on persuasive writing. There are some very interesting topics! Math will mainly be a review this week. Again, it is always helpful to review math facts at home.

Please remember to bring in any paper that can be recycled. This includes white paper (with writing or printing on it), newspaper, and magazines. If our school collects the most recyclable paper, we will be awarded a bench that is made of recycled milk jugs. Very cool!

Lastly, I want to say, "great job!" to all of the Talent Show performers from our room. I was also very happy to see some of their classmates there to show support. It was a very entertaining show!

Feb. 9-12

Just wanted to update everyone on what to expect this week. In math, we will finish up area. Our indicator quiz will be on Tuesday. I feel like everyone has a pretty good handle on how to find area. Parents, you can help by having students use a ruler to find the length and width of rectangular or square objects and then calculate the area. Students should practice perimeter, too, so that they can remember the difference. In reading, we're going to start fairy tales, folk tales, and myths this week. I'm planning on having different groups of students read different types of stories and then compare the different elements. Then, we'll be reading novels that are based on these types of stories. In writing, we're starting to write persuasive pieces. There are a few students still finishing biographies. This is okay because I really want to make sure that everyone understands this type of writing. We will start presenting biographies this week, too. Students who are still working will go last. We are back working on science and are studying animal relationships and food chains.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Week of Feb.2-Feb. 6

This week will be a week mixed with starting new things and wrapping up some old ones. In reading, we will be reviewing Because of Winn-Dixie on Monday and then taking the assessment on Tuesday. Projects (thank you for posting the comment) will be due on Feb. 12. After we finish Because of Winn-Dixie, we will begin reading fairy tales and folk tales.

Most students are still putting the finishing touches on their Famous Hoosier Biographies. We will begin presenting those on Feb. 9. My plan was to start persuasive writing this week, but I'm going to hold off until next week so that everyone will be finished with their biographies. We will spend the week concentrating on developing details and writing complete and fluent sentences.

In math, we will finish perimeter and start learning about the area of shapes. We are also going to be moving on to science this week. We will be learning about animals and their relationships with one another.

Enjoy the Super Bowl commercials and I'll see you tomorrow!