Only 3 days in school this week, due to the holiday and teacher institute. I hope everyone had a great, long weekend. We have lots to catch up on over these next few days. Here is a look at our week ahead:
* Wednesday we will follow a Monday schedule. We will have our library time at the end of the day. Many students didn't get a chance to check out a book last week due to our schedule and the testing that was happening in the LMC. We will get back to a normal checkout routine this week.
* There will be no MVP or Weekly Folders this week due to the shortened week.
* Our reading groups are under way! The kids meet with me and then have at least 2 class periods to work on their assignment. If they are unable to finish in class, then it is homework. You may notice your child bringing home some assignments to work on during these upcoming weeks. As a whole group, we continue to work on questioning. The kids are practicing asking authentic questions and using strategies to discover the answer. We will also begin practicing our long reader responses which the students will see on the upcoming ISAT tests in March.
* We will take a quick break from grammar this week to focus on figurative language. We will practice similes, metaphors, hyperboles, alliteration, and onomatopoeias. We will practice each individually and then hunt for them in songs, commercials, books, and everyday conversations.
* Last week in writing, the kids used their snacks to help them realize how much we use our senses during the day. We practiced writing sensory details to help the reader see what is happening with specific word choices. This week we will continue to use sensory details to describe ordinary objects and practice looking for sensory details in writing that describe the setting.
* The kids are in their groups and working hard on their science circuit boards. We will finish up our circuit boards this week and try them out with a simple circuit. This will complete our study of electricity and we will switch gears to social studies next week.
* We completed Unit 5 in math and the kids worked with simple division/multiplication stories last week. I told the kids that the best thing that they could do this weekend was practice their math facts. We are going to use A LOT of them this week as we enter into the world of long division. We will learn the traditional method for long division, which is a bit different than the method that our Chicago Math program teaches. Because of this, you will notice that some of the homework your child brings home are not study links. It is expected that the children get used to solving problems with 1 digit divisors, however, we will also introduce two digit divisors as well. You will notice some mixed review sheets in addition to the regular study/practice sheets. This is to help students keep material and math vocabulary fresh in their minds. We will also begin taking a closer look at problem solving! We have lots to do!!!
* We're still working to stay healthy--- if your child is not feeling well or is running a fever, please keep him/her at home so that we can try to keep everyone else in the classroom healthy. Thanks to all who have donated wipes! I'm wiping things down daily in the hopes of keeping some of the germs away.
* Have a great rest of the week! - Mrs. Galazka
