SPELLING WORDS: LEAVES, WOMEN, PEOPLE, WOLVES, FUNGI, LIVES, GEESE, THEMSELVES.
Can you believe we are entering February already? This month has always been "I Love To Read Month." This year why not pick at least one night a week where all electronics are turned off and the family each gets something to read and reads. In our home we have started a "Wireless Wednesday" and it's nice to not have the TV on or be on a device but instead reading a book from print. Fractions are the focus of the unit in Math. There are so many opportunities in your home to teach this concept. Start in the kitchen and you'll be amazed at the times you can teach your child about fractions.
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SPELLING WORDS: STUDYING, FEELING, POINTED, RECOMMENDED, SCRATCHING, WAITED, CARRIED, USING.
On Tuesday January 25th we are at exactly the half way mark of our current school year . I was a high school athletic coach for 26 consecutive years, and from that I learned many things about the importance of half time. One of which is that in order to be successful in the second half of the game adjustments need to be made with the team in order to finish strong. When I was coaching basketball, strategies were changed to make sure we were stronger in the second half. Something else I learned as a track and field coach. It was that when athletes reach the half way mark of a race and begin to run the 3rd portion, that part of it was always the slowest. It’s very easy right now for students to start coasting and to not put forth a lot of effort. They have just finished some major testing and might be content with their scores and not realize how they must maintain their effort to keep up. Here’s my analogy. Everyone starts off fast and strong at the beginning of the race or school year and also seems to have that sprint towards the finish line or end of school year. What happens is the middle portion of a race, in this case, the school year is vital to how we will finish. So far this year your child has committed to reading for 20 minutes a night or 140 minutes a week. They have also been given a cream colored homework sheet nearly every night this year that has been completed and checked by the adults they live with daily. I have been so impressed with the support I have received from you. Some students have never missed an assignment and those that do forget to bring it back do that very rarely. Now for the half time adjustments that we need to make for the second half are the following: Starting today, I’d like your child to read for at least 25 minutes a night or 175 minutes a week. You can divide it up however you want. It is also strongly suggested that they master their multiplication facts very soon. I’d also suggest that you try out the websites that I suggested on the class blog if your child has been below grade level in any area. This could make a big difference. If we commit together for the second half I know without a doubt that we’ll see positive results this spring as we finish up our school year. This week the students will be tested much like the beginning of the year. It will tell us where they are as far as below, at or above grade level in Reading and Math. This class has really bonded well together and it’s amazing to see them working together daily. I’m very proud of the accomplishments and how they help one another during our day. 0 Comments No school on Monday. SPELLING WORDS: force, pattern, perfect, squirm, sturdy, mother, over, perform.
Last week students tested on Reading and Math. I am very proud to announce that 100% of my students improved from their September scores and are showing great progress this year. Many students that came in below grade level have now caught up and are at or slightly above grade level! Those that came in above grade level have maintain that level and have grown even more. The hard work by your child in the classroom combined with you making sure they are reading each evening at home and completing their Math homework is a recipe for success. Let's continue to keep or have a routine of working at home as well. In Math we have been working on subtraction with regrouping and also addition in forming new groups. Show your child how you would do these problems. 450-190=___. 549 + 214=___.
Then have your child show you how they do these problem using the subtract one, add one strategy. 300-146=. 50-18=. Reminder that Wednesday is an early out day. School will be let out two hours earlier than normal. Year book order forms were sent home last week. SPELLING WORDS: desire, enclosed, surprise, recognize, telephone, whole, huge, extreme. Welcome back! Today we are starting with a review of the last 6 weeks of Math and slowly starting the routines again. Sometimes after a break a lot of routine is forgotten. I'm hoping that at home you can start with the 25-30 minutes of reading each night again today. I'd like to increase that from the 20 minutes we had been doing at night. Reminder to keep working on the Math flashcards too.
It's so good to see the students again. I truly missed them and today was a nice homecoming when they walked in to the classroom. SPELLING LIST: coach, exhausted, release, remaining, toilet, youth, oatmeal, highlight |
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April 2023
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