SPELLING WORDS: accent, accident, cancel, concerned, certain, computer, innocent, scarf
We are in the last week of March and the last 46 days of this school year . We have been gearing up for some major testing that will occur in a couple of weeks. More on that in another blog post. Our focus in Math is again on perimeter and area. Look for opportunities to show examples around the home. Let's try to bump up our reading to 35 minutes per night for the next several weeks.
0 Comments
SPELLING WORDS: crawl, ought, pause, straws, pitfall, thawing, called, taught.
In Math class we are still working on measuring to the nearest inch. We are also still working with fractions and any opportunity to use fractions at home would be appreciated. Finally, we are reviewing telling time to the minute along with elapsed time. This would be easy to share at home. Let your child know what time the food is going into the oven and let them know how many minutes it is suppose to cook. Ask them what time will it be on the clock when the meal is done. I have found if the lesson is meaningful, the child will retain it longer. A lot of Math lessons can be taught in the kitchen. SPELLING LIST: board, bored, do, due, tail, tale, wood, would, wear, where, eight, ate. As you can see our current list is homophones.
Our current unit in Reading is all about how communities were formed many years ago. The topic of our ancestors has come up and it's been fun having the students go home and find out more. I know that mine can be traced back on both my mother's and father's side to Norway. Several students went home last week and asked and came back with more information. My favorite as we went around the room was, " My family came from Foley." SPELLING LIST: emperor, character, visitor, inventor, soldier, actors, painters, players. No school on Friday as that is the end of the second trimester. Grades for the report cards will be worked on that day. When your child returns the following Monday they will have just 56 days until they will be heading to a 4th grade classroom. This past week I noticed many students taking shortcuts on assignments and not putting in a full effort on their work. I gave them a challenge that they keep giving their full effort all the way until the last day of school. Please remind your child that they can't afford to coast at this time of the year. We just finished three weeks of a Mentor Text with the title of "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions." We had some great discussions on choices we make and the impact they will have on their life. I shared some personal stories from my high school days and the choices that I made which had a huge impact on where I am today. You will have to ask your child what they learned from those lessons. SPELLING LIST: announce, around, flower, found, about, however, crowd, brown.
This week will announce the One District, One Book selection. More information will be coming home on that topic. Each year a book is used by all grade levels with numerous activities that can be done at home with the book. Thursday is "Read Across America Day." Students can dress up like a character in a story book that day if they choose. There are just two weeks left in the second trimester. Hard to believe we are to that point of the year. We are still on track with where I'd like to be at this point of the year in the curriculum. NO SPELLING LIST THIS WEEK.
I was so impressed with our Parent Teacher Conferences held the last two weeks. The partnership that has been formed is invaluable. Your child is very fortunate that they have parents that take an active interest in their education. In Math we'll continue with our fraction unit and once again please look for opportunities to find examples around the home. Spelling Words: choose, loose, soup, fruit, foolish, good, lose, through
Book Fair is on Feb. 14. If your child would like to purchase a book they can do it on Tuesday. Feb.14 Party! If your child would like to bring valentines for their classmates they can do so. They can also prepare a box at home or they will have an opportunity to make a Valentine Bag at school. Wednesday Feb. 15 we will have our last Parent Teacher Conferences for the year. Special thank you to the folks that came last week and were all on time. No school on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. Feb.17, 20, 21 SPELLING WORDS: leaves, women, people, wolves, fungi, lives, geese, themselves.
For those that signed up for Parent Teacher Conferences the first round is Thursday from 3:30 pm - 7:30 pm. If you arrive early I will have chairs set up outside my room. Please be on time as I have ever slot filled and I will keep to the schedule. We'll review your child's progress and talk about goals for them for the rest of the year and the summer. I'm looking forward to seeing you. SPELLING WORDS: studying, feeling, scratching, using, pointed, recommended, waited, carried.
We are finishing up with Unit 3 which involves place value. This week the students will be learning to multiply two digit by one digit later this week. At the end of the week give your child a couple of problems to solve. We will have a Valentine's Party on Feb. 14. I'll send a class list with your child if they want to give out Valentines. SPELLING WORDS: force, perfect, sturdy, over, pattern, squirm, mother, perform
On Tuesday January 24th 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 yellow 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. 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 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. |
“I live in a very small house, but my windows look out on a very large world.” Archives
April 2023
Categories |