September 8, 2017 Post...

Thanks for visiting today.  Testing has begun and is going very well. The CoGat is very quick and painless for the most part. We'll start the Iowa on Monday. Please make sure your child gets to bed at a decent time and has a substantial breakfast. The sections on the Iowa are longer and require a little more focus.  Check out below to read what else has been going on in our fabulous classroom.

Phonics/Grammar: We studied irregular plural nouns and took our Friday assessment.

Reading:  We read from The White Giraffe  and learned about character traits and supporting text evidence as well as cause and effect relationships in the story.  We completed a close reading of a selection from the book to study the vocabulary and we used clues to decode the meaning.  We used the "envisioning the story" comprehension strategy and sketched out one of the chapters.  We took a listening comprehension test on The White Giraffe.  We also read 10 chapters in our book club selections, prepared topics to be discussed, and met with our book clubs.  We worked in small groups to build reading fluency. 

Math:  We continued our analysis of multi-step word problems.  Many students are jumping in to the computation too quickly without fully analyzing the problem.  We really focused on taking our time to make sure we understand what information we have and what information we are looking for. We are practicing using the ACE strategy to solve the word problems.  We took an assessment on this skill.  We also have learned two strategies for multiplication; making equal groups and repeated addition.  Now is a good time to practice skip counting, which is a skill needed and often used during multiplication.  We did several "number talks", practicing our mental math strategies. 

Social Studies:  We continued our study of American Indian groups.  We filled in an organizer, comparing regions, homes, food, and culture.  

Class News  and Announcements...

Thank you to Mrs. Newlin for providing the class with some testing treats!  

Thank you for all the prize box donations that have been coming in!  Woohoo!!!

Way to go on our behavior!  We've gotten so many compliments this week for showing respect and maturity at all times.  Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Mascheri have been so impressed!  Everyone should be proud of the reputation our class is getting.

Testing continues through next Thursday. During this time, our lunch is at 11:40 instead of 12:15.  

Some parents like "extra work" for their child. Here are some great suggestions that are alternatives to worksheets...

*Make a set of flashcards with multiplication facts and practice them

*Play "Target 300" with a family member or friend (we learned this in class this week)

*Get an empty notebook and write a journal entry

*Do you have a pet? Pretend you are that animal and write a story from his/her perspective

*Jump on IXL and practice rounding, add/sub, or multiplication

*Write a good old fashioned letter to a grandma or grandpa