We have sooooo enjoyed getting back to our normal routine now that testing is over! (Okay, so maybe me more than the students!) We've had such a busy week and haven't wasted a moment of our time. Please check out below to see what we've been doing in our classroom...
Phonics: We learned how to spell compound words with common parts.
Reading: We finished The White Giraffe! Our focus throughout this story was closely analyzing the characters, identifying character traits using text evidence, and looking at how the characters changed from the beginning to the end and what actions contributed to those changes. We did several close readings, looking at challenging vocabulary and finding clues the author left for us to decode these words. We read several more American Indian passages and practiced revving our brains up to learn. We used the BOXES and BULLETS strategy to identify the main idea and key details from each paragraph. All the groups worked on finishing up their book club selections so we will be ready to start our next round after the fall break.
Writing: We began new narratives by first selecting a "small moment" to write about. We reviewed the strategies that authors use to start stories and we did the same. We remembered that the "heart" of the story needs to be told bit-by-bit, moving the audience slowly through the story so they can make a mental movie of our events. We looked at several ways to close narratives, focusing on staying in the small moment.
Math: We practiced balancing equations mentally during our math talks. We reviewed the best strategies for multiplying and dividing, which is dependent on the particular numbers. Sometimes skip counting is best (if one of the factors is a 2, 5, or 10). We learned that if we are working with larger numbers, repeated addition or subtraction is much more efficient than making groups or arrays. We took three touchstone assessments on multiplication and division. Then we shifted our focus to identifying the correct operation when looking at multiplication and division word problems. We used manipulatives in our room to "act out" word problems to help us visualize the operation.
Social Studies: We looked closely at the Kwakuitl, Pawnee, and Seminole tribes and focused on the resources that were available to them and how this affected their way of life. We also carried over our reading strategy of using BOXES and BULLETS to make sure we are understanding what we are reading.
Class News and Announcements...
Thank you Mrs. Newlin and Mrs. Lane for making our end of testing "party" so much fun!
Fall Break is next week, but our American Indian projects are due the Tuesday after we get back. Make sure your child is planning and preparing ahead of time.
Now is the time to begin helping your child memorize their multiplication facts. If you haven't yet purchased flashcards, that would be a great place to start. Ten minutes a night is all that is needed to have these facts mastered by 4th grade, which is essential for success with the larger numbers.
If you haven't signed the new pink permission slip for Tellus, please do so and send back after the break.
We are so excited about the New Echota field trip as a culminating activity for our American Indian unit. Please return the permission slip and money by October 13th. We need everyone to pay in order to be able to attend this field trip. We had to dip into our extra funds to pay for Tellus.
Have an amazing FALL BREAK!!!
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