Happy Thanksgiving

As we enter our last week of school in the month of November it amazes me how much we have already accomplished!
     This week we will begin a reading unit on non-fiction. To begin this unit we will learn about the structure of a non-fiction text and how that structure can help us build meaning even before we begin to read. We will also spend time learning about the main idea and how to identify the main idea of a non-fiction text.
     In writing, we will continue our work on realistic fiction. The students have some interesting story ideas and we will begin to draft our first realistic fiction piece. We will revisit how to choose a story topic and how to organize our work before we draft.
     Math this week will be multiplication, multiplication and multiplication! Thanks so much for your help with the array cards. We have already begun using them to fill in a multiplication chart. The students have been amazed at the patterns they see and how many facts they already know.
    In social studies we will continue our study of ancient Egypt. We have had some interesting discussions about the Nile River and why a group of people would want to settle on the banks of the river.

Some pre-Thanksgiving Day fun!

Thank you to Mr. Miller for being our Mystery Reader last week! 

   

Short Week

Even though students only have two and a half days of school this week, we will be very busy. We will be using the array cards (thanks for your help on these) to work on learning multiplication meanings and begin learning our facts. One way you can help is by concentrating on the 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 facts. Talk with your child about patterns in numbers, practice skip counting, and make groups. For example, five groups of three cranberries is a total of fifteen cranberries; anything to get them thinking about the relationship between repeated addition and multiplication. We will continue our work with realistic fiction writing. We will also continue to learn about ancient Egypt. In addition to all of our academic work we will also meet with our buddies on Monday, have a Mystery Reader on Tuesday and attend a Veteran's Day assembly on Wednesday. I wish you the most wonderful holiday and hope you enjoy this time with your families. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you Mrs. Jada (Natalie's Grandmother) for being our Mystery Reader this week!

A big thank you to Master Sergeant Sena (Daniel J's grandfather) for coming to speak with us on Friday. The students were thrilled to learn about his time in the Navy and Air Force, as well as his most recent journey on the USS Enterprise. This aircraft carrier is the world's first nuclear-powered vessel and was recently retired. We learned so much about the workings of the ship and what it means to serve our country! Thank you! 

Report Cards

    I am knee-deep in report cards, so I will be brief. Hopefully you were able to enjoy the beautiful weather with your family this weekend. Conference reminders went home stapled to steno pads a few weeks ago. If you have any questions about when your conference is please email me. The report card will be uploaded to BC@Home the day before your child's conference day.
   This week is shaping up to be very busy. Please continue to practice facts at home, if your son/daughter is still taking timed tests.

Thank you Mrs. Kowalsky for being our Mystery Reader this week! 

Now what we have all been waiting for...

    The moment has finally arrived! We are starting cursive this week. The students are very excited! We will begin by learning all of the lowercase letters and then the capitals. It will take quite a few weeks before we are ready to write in cursive on daily assignments. 

    In reading this week we will begin a new unit about series books. Our book groups are almost finished with their first book and character trait assignments. Then the groups will move to a series book. We have had some wonderful discussions in the small groups about the characters in our books.

    This week in math we will complete our unit on addition and subtraction with regrouping. The students will begin exploring multiplication concepts this week as well. Please continue to practice addition and subtraction facts at home throughout the week. Congratulations to the six students who have completed all of their timed tests! Please be sure to sign and return the last chapter test by Friday. I will need to keep these for my records. 

    We have completed our unit on Plants Growth and Development. This week we will be switching gears and taking a look at Ancient Egypt. We will begin our work by looking at Egypt on a map and analyzing the benefits to living near a major water source. 

    In writing we will dive into writing realistic fiction. This week we will explore how writers get their ideas. We will write "story blurbs" to help us get our ideas down on paper. 

    I was quite impressed with the quality of the Friday Letters this week. I hope that you have noticed an improvement in your son/daughter's writing. Most students are using paragraphing to organize their ideas at this point. This structure has definitely improved the content of their writing as well. 

   Don't forget Tuesday is a half day this week. Have a wonderful week!

Buddies!

Thank you Mrs. Russom for being our Mystery Reader this week!