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!

Keeping Warm

I don't just mean with sweaters and coats (though, please do that, too)! With all of the school that we've been missing, please make sure that you are keeping up with reading and practicing those math facts. When we return next week, we'll pick up right where we left off. We have to review last week's algebra before moving onto lines and angles as we begin geometry. We will also be having an indicator quiz in reading. After the quiz, we'll be sharing our questions from Because of Winn-Dixie. Sometime on Monday, we will discuss the answers to our questions on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and watch a video. I will also be looking at extending the deadline for the social studies lessons to next week. Please remember that this is an in-class project, even though some students have opted to make things at home to bring in. (I love the intiative!!)

Just to let everyone know, I am making some changes to our daily schedule starting on Monday. Our intervention specialist, Mrs. Bogue, will be resuming work with students for additional help in reading and math. To better serve those students, I need to make adjustments to our daily schedule. I'm not sure what the schedule will be yet. I will post it as soon as I figure it out.

Have a good weekend and stay warm!

We're Baaack!

We had a wonderful first week back. I was so proud of how everyone came in ready to work. The class received a lot of compliments from other teachers on their behavior, which I always love to hear. We've already earned another reward--on Monday, students will choose a friend they would like to sit by for the day. They really deserve it!

Next week, we will be starting to read Because of Winn-Dixie. This is one of my favorite books because its many themes reach out to a lot of different readers. We're also currently working on writing biographies. I'm amazed at the level of interest everyone is showing in his/her famous Hoosier. I can't wait to see how the reports turn out. In math, we're going to continue algebra. I've also been reminding students that they need to practice their multiplication and division facts at home. Flashcards are great...students can set a goal for how many they'd like to complete in a minute and increase their goal as they get better. Also, a great website for fact practice is www.aaamath.com. Another subject the students are really excited about right now is social studies. We're studying Native Americans who settled in Indiana. Students are in groups, and each group is respsonsible for learning about certain tribes. They will then present a lesson to the rest of the class about what they have learned. Lastly, students are responsible this week for answering a question about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life. The students generated the questions and chose which one they each wanted to answer. However, most students were so excited that they found the answers to their questions after they finished their quizzes on Friday. As I've mentioned a few times already, they've been very motivated since returning from vacation. This new year is filled with great topics, so I expect the level of motivation will continue!