September 21, 2014

Readers' Workshop
In reading this week the students learned that good readers visualize when they read to help make sense of the text.  The class used the book Fireflies as an example.  The students were able to transfer what they learned about visualizing to their independent reading books and wrote down their ideas on their "think sheets."  In addition, the students learned about different kinds of fiction (historical, realistic, fantasy, etc.) and non-fiction books (informational, biography) and will learn how to code these genres on their reading logs next week.  The focus of Readers' Workshop is for students to practice their comprehension strategies daily with "just right books."  At the end of every workshop we gather and share our books and thinking.  Everyone is doing a great job!

Math
In math, the students skip counted up and back and solved place value puzzles using a calculator.  They also reviewed dollars and cents notation, used < and > symbols to compare money amounts, and made change.  Finally, the students solved money problems with and without a calculator, and they learned to decide when they need an exact answer or an estimate as they simulated a shopping trip.  Lesson 1.12 will be the last lesson of the unit, as lesson 1.13 will be covered later in the year.  The students will review in class on Tuesday, and the test will be on Wednesday.

Science
In science, the students located the sun in the sky and landmarks such as trees, houses and light poles in a given area.  They tracked/predicted the position of the sun at three different times of the day (9:30, 11:30 and 2:30).  The students determined that the sun appears to move from east to west in an arc shape.  Finally, the students were given a task to create a model that explains why there is daytime and nighttime.  The class worked in small groups to design and construct their model and will compose a written explanation next week before presenting it to the class.  

Language Arts
In WEX this week the students continued to work on the skill of focus in their writing.  One day they focused on an object in the room and wrote about it as if they were one inch tall.  The students focused on setting for another journal prompt and learned to include the five senses in their descriptions to make the reader feel like they were actually in this setting.  Finally, Ms. Burns, our Advanced Learning Facilitator, payed us another visit and helped model the procedures for our Wonder Books.  Soon we will be choosing our own topics, researching, composing and sharing!

We completed our mini unit on Commands and Exclamations, and our test will be on Tuesday.  The next unit will focus on Subjects.

Important Information
Remember, there is a Words Their Way (WTW) test every Tuesday.  Students should practice at home 2-3 times per week. You and your child can determine the days and activities.  The students will be tested on 8 words from their list, along with 2 new words that follow the same pattern (to show transfer of skills learned).

Fiction Genre Projects are due September 30.

September Reading Calendars are due October 1.

Friday Folders went home this past Friday.  Please sign these weekly and have your child return them (empty) the next Monday.  This will be counted as a homework assignment.