Rested and Ready to Resume

Hello, all! I hope that you all have had a chance to rest, relax, and ready yourself for the remainder of the school year. I know I had a very nice vacation, but I am definitely looking forward to getting back to school!

When we return, we will continue reading our fantasy novels in the literature circle format. The students have done such a wonderful job in their reading and discussions. We should be finishing these books by the middle of our second week back. I can't wait to see everyone's reactions to how the stories end.

In math, we will be continuing our work with fractions, but we will now be relating them to decimals. Expect homework as we practice and review the indicators that we've already mastered throughout the school year. It's important that we keep coming back to these so that those skills are not lost.

Most students have finished the persuasive writing assignment. Those who have not will be expected to finish publishing them this week. We are then going to work on the traits of voice and sentence fluency as we prepare to start writing poetry in mid-April.

In science we will review what we've learned about the Earth, Sun and Moon. Then we'll extend that learning through reading and further explorations.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I will see you all on Monday!

All Done!

The students finished the Applied Skills section of the ISTEP today. Let me just say that everyone worked very hard and I am proud of them. We still have the multiple choice portion to take at the end of April, but that should be a breeze after this test.

Our pizza party for winning the Box Tops competition is on Friday, March 13. The class also chose to have their comfy reading reward on that day. Students may wear pajama pants and t-shirts; they can bring slippers to wear in class; also, they can bring a pillow, blanket or stuffed animal that will fit in their book bags (I know how crowded buses can be.). All of this should make for a great reward for excellent behavior and effort!

ISTEP Underway

As you probably know, we began our ISTEP testing yesterday. We will be able to wrap up on Friday. Any make up tests will be given next week. I just want to say that I am really proud of how hard the students are working!

Even though we are testing, we are still continuing to learn new material. We are reading in our fantasy-based guided reading books. It's very exciting to see how each group is really getting into their reading through the jobs they've been given to do. I have heard some excellent discussions as I've listened to each group.

In math, we are going to begin working on fractions. We'll begin by reviewing what fractions are, and then we'll move into mixed numbers and improper fractions. Much of our work will be done using pictures to help us understand.

We will be continuing our persuasive writing pieces. We had to take a break from them to review prompt writing, but now we can concentrate on completing them and adding the finishing touches.

Also, I have some very exciting news. Our class won the Box Top competition by turning in over 900 Box Tops!!!!! We are being rewarded with a pizza party. I'm not sure when it is yet, but I'll keep you informed. Thanks to all of the students and parents for their efforts in collecting those Tops.

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!