Weekly Update: March 25th-29th

Lemme

Leopards

Dear Parents,

Our first week back from break went well, the students did a great job jumping back into our daily routines. I hope everyone was able to enjoy their Spring Break. I enjoyed some quality time with our boys. We celebrated Cooper's 2nd birthday, made some forts with blankets, baked some Easter cookies, took a trip to the Children's Museum, and many other inside activities due to the weather. Like everyone else, we have taken full advantage of the nice weather last week and are looking forward to some sunshine!

Reading:

This past week students read the nonfiction story, Mountains: Surviving Mount Everest about the difficult and daring journey by climbers. Students practiced the comprehension strategy of using text and graphic features to help them better understand the text.

Examples of Text Features: bold faced words, headings, captions, labels, titles, fun facts, etc.

Examples of Graphic Features: pictures, drawings, diagrams, maps, charts, cut aways, etc. 

Spelling:

Our spelling pattern this week focused on base words plus the suffixes "less" and "ness." Students focused on identifying the base word and how the suffixes change the meaning of the word. "Less" meaning without and "ness" meaning the state of being.

Sadness: the state of being sad

Hopeless: without hope

Writing:

Students have been working hard to complete their fiction pieces including sensory language, at least two similes, and dialogue between characters. This week, students will be going through editing and proofreading stages, completing a final draft by the end of the week.

Math:

Students should have brought home their Unit 8 Progress Check. Please take time to review the assessment with your child. This past week students did not have homework. This week we thought it was important to take some time to review some skills/concepts that students needed more practice and explicit instruction. We spent some time reviewing equivalent fractions, measuring to the nearest 1/2 inch, and finding the median, range, and mode. I also had extension activities to challenge students such as having students find the mean/average of a data set. We will start Unit 9: Multiplication and Division on Monday. Unit 9 has four main areas of focus:

• To multiply and divide with multiples of 10, 100, and 1,000
• To use mental math to multiply
• To share money
• To find product of 2-digit numbers

Social Studies:

We began our unit on Chapter 5 of Social Studies Alive! on Cultural Diversity. This past week we discussed what it means to be a part of a culture, we reviewed different foods, sports, holidays, and traditions of from cultures across the world. I even attempted a song with them about cultures, Mrs. Berry would be so proud of me!

Reminders:

• The book fair will be open on:

             Tuesday 8:00-8:30a.m. and 3:00-3:30p.m.

             Wednesday 8:00-8:30a.m. and 3:00-3:30p.m.

             Thursday  8:00-8:30a.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m. during science night

• March reading logs are due Monday, April 1st
• We would love if you could donate any pencils sharpeners to our classroom. We are also down to a couple boxes of Kleenex if you have any to spare. Thanks in advance:)

Weekly Update: March 4th-8th

Lemme

Leopards

Hi Parents,

Well, we have one full week before Spring Break! I can honestly say, I am sure ready for Spring weather. I will take the rain over the snow. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I enjoyed meeting with each one of you to discuss your child's progress. I appreciate your continued to support at home.

Language Arts:

This past week students read the fantasy story, The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman by Darcy Pattison. Students practiced the comprehension skill of sequencing events to help them better understand the text. We discussed time order words that authors use to help readers. We also practiced sequencing by using a variety of picture books from the library. 

Students have been focusing on descriptive writing, using their senses to add more details to their writing. We also discussed the use of similes. Similes compare two different things using the words, "like" or "as".

Spelling:

Our spelling pattern this week focused on words that contained the suffixes; ful, ly, er. We practiced identifying the base word and the spelling changes that were or were not necessary before adding the appropriate suffix.

Math

We have been continuing our fraction unit and will wrap up in the next couple of days. We will take our Unit 8 assessment this week, I will send out an email with a date as we wrap up the last lesson. On Friday, we spent the day on the Everyday Mathematics website, playing the games that involve multiplication and fractions.

http://em-ccss.everydaymathonline.com/g_login.html

Science:

We have continued our Structures of Life science unit focusing on our crayfish (a.k.a crawdads, crawfish). Students have been working to identify the crayfish structures and behaviors, as well as comparing the crayfish to our Bess Beatles. This week students will take the assessment for this unit. You should expect your child to bring home a study guide on Monday.

Since this unit is concluding, I need to find homes for our 13 crayfish. I know your child may have already mentioned this to you. Know that I completely understand and support whatever decision you make. In order for your child to have a crayfish, I will need the attached letter in the email completed. I will also send home a copy on Monday so don't feel that you have to print this out. If I have more that 13 students that return their permission slip signed, I will have a random drawing. Students should will receive their crayfish on Thursday, March 14th.

Below are some pictures of the students working with the crayfish.