Looks like we go back to a regular schedule this week--5 days in the classroom. The kids did a great job transitioning with all of the excitement of being off for break, the two cold days, and only having 3 days in school. Here is a look at our week ahead:
* Grisha is our star student--we can't wait to learn more about him!
* Congratulations to Paige! Paige was one of the ten school finalists for our geography bee. We are so proud of her and had a great time cheering her on as she competed on Friday.
* Scholastic catalogs went home with your child on Friday. The book orders are due this Friday. All book orders can be placed online--even if using the coupon.
* Six Flags "Read to Succeed" begins this week! If your child reads a total of 6 hours, logs the minutes, and turns in the form, then he/she can earn a ticket for FREE admission to the park! Just make sure the forms are sent in by February 21st!
* Weekly folders will start up again this week--the kids will fill out their portion of them on Thursday and we will send them home on Friday.
* We began our questioning unit last week in reading. We will continue working with asking "thick" vs. "thin" questions this week. A thick question is one in which it cannot be answered in one word or just by looking back at the text. It is something that we need to add our own knowledge to as well. We will also start to look a bit at science fiction. We will talk about the elements of this genre, how it compares to fantasy, and then use this knowledge to help us when we begin our guided reading groups. I'm excited to start our science fiction novels with the kids!
* We began our study of James and the Giant Peach last week. The students reviewed how to look for examples of character traits in the text. This week our focus will be on sensory details and describing words. We will look at the ways author's can play with language to make use feel, smell, taste, and hear things as if we are right there with the characters in the story.
* This week we will begin our figurative language study. The kids will be introduced to what figurative language is, the different types of language used, and we will go on reading hunts for examples to add to our classroom bulletin board. I think they will be surprised how much figurative language is all around us.
* Have you ever wondered how your finger can make the angry birds fly in the game? Or how you can feed Ginger Kitty on the app? The kids will find out the answers to questions like these and many more as we take a look at computer coding. This week we will have an introduction to computer coding in the classroom! We can't wait to "crack the code"!
* Mrs. Albrecht will be doing some instant challenges with the kids. This will allow the kids to work in small groups on mini challenges that have them work as a team and use their critical thinking skills. Will the kids be able to handle the challenge?
* We will review Unit 5 in math on Monday, as we go over our study guides together in class. The test over Unit 5 will be on Tuesday. We will begin our new unit, which covers division, on Thursday (there will be no math on Wednesday due to scheduling difficulties). A parent note explaining our next unit will be sent home later in the week. Keep practicing those math facts!!!!
* We finished up our static electricity portion of our science kit. Now we are on to circuits! The kids will play around with batteries, wires, and light bulbs in order to learn the parts of a circuit, different ways to light a light bulb, and the importance of conductors and insulators.
* Have a wonderful week and as always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me! ***Email is the best way--we are still having phone difficulties***
~Mrs. Galazka
