Classroom Update - Week of August 7th
We have had a such a great first week of school! I am so impressed with how quickly the students have learned our daily routines and what a smooth of a transition it has been. I am really looking forward to what is sure to be a terrific school year!
Homework:
I've had a few questions about homework recently and even though I will be going over it at Open House on Thursday, I would like to take the time to address it now as well. Each week, the students will be expected to read for 20 minutes each night and record the title of the book they read, along with the number of pages in their agendas. They will also be expected to study their Wordly Wise vocabulary words. They can choose to bring home their books to help them study or they also can access the Wordly Wise website from either my webpage (look under Academics, then Reading) or by visiting http://resources.wordlywise3000.com/word_lists/?book=4&lesson=1. For math, each Monday they will be given a Math Homework Review that they will have until Friday to complete, along with a daily math homework page that will correlate to what we are learning in class that week which will be due the next day. I hope that this helps to clear things up a little bit better. There is always the possibility of an additional assignment in reading, writing, science, or social studies, but this is what you can consistently expect each night.
Updates / Reminders:
I hope to see everyone this week at Open House! It will be held on Thursday, August 10th from 6:00 - 7:30.
If you have a child that has been identified as Academically or Intellectually Gifted there will be a parent informational meeting on Thursday, August 10th from 5:15-5:45 with Mrs. Heir, our AIG teacher.
Please visit the MES website for more information about Student Clubs! Many have applications that need to be filled out by a certain deadline.
If your child plans on bringing in a device for our BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program, they may start doing so on Monday, August 14th, as long as the BYOD agreement has been completed by the student and parent (this went home in Friday Folders) and you have registered your child's device HERE.
Our first early release day is Friday, August 18th. Students will dismiss at 1:15PM. I will send out a Google Form closer to the date to determine any changes in transportation.
Our next early release day is Friday, September 29th. Students will dismiss at 1:15PM.
Mark your calendars for Morrisville's Annual Fall Festival! It will be held on Friday, September 29th.
Reader's Workshop:
This week in reading the students will continue to work on building their reading stamina, while I continue to pull them to work on beginning of the year reading assessments, individual conferences to work on goal setting, and for guided reading/strategy groups. As a whole group, we will be focusing on the following learning outcomes:
Good readers pay close attention to new and interesting words to help expand their vocabulary
Good readers enlist a variety of strategies to support them when they get confused while reading
Good readers create a buzz about the books we love, and we do this by summarizing these books
Good readers use various systems to identify good fit books so that we always have something to read
Good readers determine the theme of a story by using support from the text
Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:
How do you plan on pushing yourself as a reader to read longer and stronger?
What are some strategies that you can use when you come to a confusing part when reading?
How can you tell if you are reading a “good fit book”?
What are some common themes that we have discussed in class?
What is the theme in the book that you are reading now? How do you know (support)?
Writer's Workshop
This week in writing, the students will settle upon one small moment memory to write about. They will begin the writing process by planning out their story using a modified tree map to elicit more elaboration through drawing out additional details about the “WOW” moment using their five senses. As the week progresses, the students will learn useful strategies for strong beginnings, the importance of utilizing transitional words and the correct way to use dialogue in their writing.
Qualities of Good Personal Narrative Writing:
Write about a small moment in time (one time, one place, one topic)
Zoom in so you tell the most important parts of the story.
Include true, exact details from the movie you have in your mind.
Begin with a strong lead – maybe action, setting, dialogue, or a combination which creates mood.
Use Slow Motion Replay to describe the actions
Paint vivid pictures that are important to the focus
Use strong vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.
Make a strong ending – maybe use important actions, dialogue, images, and whole-story reminders that make a lasting impression.
Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:
What small moment have you settled on to write about?
Tell me more about your WOW moment.
What important details are you slowing down in your story?
How do you plan on beginning your story in a way that catches the reader’s attention?
Math:
This week in math the students will continue to work on place value. They will especially focus on rounding to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand place value. The students also are focusing on solving word problems involving estimation. They are taught to round the number(s) first before performing the needed operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division). In addition, the students are also on the lookout for important key words that will signal them that the problem is not looking for an exact answer. In addition to rounding, the students will also work on comparing whole numbers and being able to read and write numbers through one million. The students will take their first math assessment that will cover the taught place value concepts next Monday, August 14th.
Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:
What would 3,349 be if rounded to the nearest ten? Hundred? Thousand?
What key words tell you that you need to estimate/round?
What are some strategies you use when comparing numbers?
Social Studies:
This week in social studies the students will learn about how the Piedmont and Mountain regions were settled and the challenges that those settlers faced. They will also compare and contrast the role that African Americans played in the three regions. Later this week, the students will learn a brief history of some of the major wars fought in North Carolina including the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. The students will continue to take notes in their social studies notebook and these would make great study resources as they prepare for their assessment on Monday, August 21st.
Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:
Why did people choose to settle in the Piedmont or Mountain regions?
What challenges did they face?
How was the role of African Americans different in the regions?
Tell me what you learned about the French and Indian War? Who fought in it? What were they fighting for? Who won?
Tell me what you learned about the Revolutionary War? Who fought in it? What were they fighting for? Who won?