Today was picture day! The children looked lovely. I hope you'll all be pleased with their pictures!
We are so looking forward to having Grandparents/Grandfriends tomorrow!
The students will have a fair bit of homework tonight, as many of the students chose not to complete assignments left in my absence. Each student will bring home either a short book or the PASS Social Studies book. The pages have been assigned depending on the book. Every student will choose 2 sections (any two headings in the book) to complete a "Main Idea/Details" Box and Bullet chart on.
The pages are as follows: (Note, the books are formatted VERY differently and have been assigned based upon each student's individual reading level, so the amount of time to do the required reading ends up being about the same.)
Westward Expanion--pages 4-13
Heading West--1-12
Spreading Across the Continent 2-14
PASS Coach--46-49
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Tuesday, October 15
Happy Tuesday!
What a great morning we have had here. We are working on writing persuasively. Today, we wrote paragraphs from yesterday's graphic organizers. The students did a nice job using their transition words! ("First," "for example" "reason one, reason two").
Tonight the students are to create a "T-chart" graphic organizer for another topic. They were given a choice: Should the Washington Redskins change their name? or Should schools be "flipped?" We discussed both issues to help brainstorm some arguments for each topic. Over the long weekend, this will need to be written as a paragraph. [I will give feedback on the organizers for every student who brings it to me].
As a sidenote, we are really focusing on following directions in both classes to ensure that instructional time isn't lost due to chattiness. Take a minute to discuss your child's focus in class--is she/he on task and working hard? What strategies could we use to help improve focus?
Have a great night!
What a great morning we have had here. We are working on writing persuasively. Today, we wrote paragraphs from yesterday's graphic organizers. The students did a nice job using their transition words! ("First," "for example" "reason one, reason two").
Tonight the students are to create a "T-chart" graphic organizer for another topic. They were given a choice: Should the Washington Redskins change their name? or Should schools be "flipped?" We discussed both issues to help brainstorm some arguments for each topic. Over the long weekend, this will need to be written as a paragraph. [I will give feedback on the organizers for every student who brings it to me].
As a sidenote, we are really focusing on following directions in both classes to ensure that instructional time isn't lost due to chattiness. Take a minute to discuss your child's focus in class--is she/he on task and working hard? What strategies could we use to help improve focus?
Have a great night!
Monday, October 14, 2013
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Oct 14 Update
This is an unusual week, with only 2 full days of instruction. With field day on Wednesday, it has changed up our schedule a bit.
Today, we focused on writing opinion pieces. We watched a short video news clip on the US Postal Service. The students then had to choose a side to defend (was it a good idea for the government to stop the production of the stamps or not). We practiced using the "stoplight" form of organization. Tomorrow, we will practice turning this into a full paragraph.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2013/10/11/exp-erin-post-office-to-destroy-unsafe-stamps-deemed-dangerous.cnn
Students also had a long period of uninterrupted reading and free writing. With the end of the 9 weeks, many students are closing in on their reading counts goals. Congratulations to Tori and Melvin, our first two finishers!
We did a quick start to Westward Expansion, watching a short introduction clip and remembering what we learned in 4th grade. The students already have a strong basis from fourth grade, referencing the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush, discord with Native Americans, and the hardships of pioneer life. We will continue building on this foundation throughout the next few weeks.
Don't forget to wear red on Wednesday, and turn in signed and corrected social studies tests. (due today!)
Today, we focused on writing opinion pieces. We watched a short video news clip on the US Postal Service. The students then had to choose a side to defend (was it a good idea for the government to stop the production of the stamps or not). We practiced using the "stoplight" form of organization. Tomorrow, we will practice turning this into a full paragraph.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2013/10/11/exp-erin-post-office-to-destroy-unsafe-stamps-deemed-dangerous.cnn
Students also had a long period of uninterrupted reading and free writing. With the end of the 9 weeks, many students are closing in on their reading counts goals. Congratulations to Tori and Melvin, our first two finishers!
We did a quick start to Westward Expansion, watching a short introduction clip and remembering what we learned in 4th grade. The students already have a strong basis from fourth grade, referencing the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush, discord with Native Americans, and the hardships of pioneer life. We will continue building on this foundation throughout the next few weeks.
Don't forget to wear red on Wednesday, and turn in signed and corrected social studies tests. (due today!)
Thursday, October 10, 2013
October 10
Today was a great day! In first block, we met our 2nd grade buddies. The kids set such a great example for the little ones. I was so proud of every single person! Check back tomorrow for photos.
We prepared for our test in informational text tomorrow by working on either study island or in our write in handbooks. We reviewed the process of finding main idea and the four major text structures we have learned. The kids seem prepared!
For homework, every student was asked to bring home a nonfiction book. For part of the 30 minutes of reading, the students should read a page and find the main idea of that page. They should be able to identify the sentence that supports this answer.
Grades for the reconstruction test will go home tomorrow. If a student is unhappy with the score, or if he or he has scored below a70, it may be edited this weekend for an improved score. Changes must reflect a thorough explanation of why the answer was incorrect and why the correct answer is correct (going back to that evidence). Students are welcome to ask any questions and use their resources!
We prepared for our test in informational text tomorrow by working on either study island or in our write in handbooks. We reviewed the process of finding main idea and the four major text structures we have learned. The kids seem prepared!
For homework, every student was asked to bring home a nonfiction book. For part of the 30 minutes of reading, the students should read a page and find the main idea of that page. They should be able to identify the sentence that supports this answer.
Grades for the reconstruction test will go home tomorrow. If a student is unhappy with the score, or if he or he has scored below a70, it may be edited this weekend for an improved score. Changes must reflect a thorough explanation of why the answer was incorrect and why the correct answer is correct (going back to that evidence). Students are welcome to ask any questions and use their resources!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
October 9th
Happy Hump Day!
Today, we worked in reading on using text structure to help us discover the main idea of a text. We were working with a short 4 page passage entitled Tricky Tales, which suits our upcoming unit on the west well! The students created "boxes and bullets" to track the main idea and supporting details. One thing we are working on is ensuring that the main idea is a SENTENCE explaining what the passage is mostly about, not just the one or two word topic.
The students took their test on the Reconstruction era today. Overall, the results are looking good. We did a quick feedback survey, and 100% of the students said the test was "fair," covering what we had learned. Tomorrow, we will go over the results and begin our unit on Westward Expansion, which ties in perfectly with our read-aloud, Mr. Tucket.
Homework: Read 30 minutes in your practice range (this is especially important, as most students have realized they are behind in their goal for the nine weeks!)
Today, we worked in reading on using text structure to help us discover the main idea of a text. We were working with a short 4 page passage entitled Tricky Tales, which suits our upcoming unit on the west well! The students created "boxes and bullets" to track the main idea and supporting details. One thing we are working on is ensuring that the main idea is a SENTENCE explaining what the passage is mostly about, not just the one or two word topic.
The students took their test on the Reconstruction era today. Overall, the results are looking good. We did a quick feedback survey, and 100% of the students said the test was "fair," covering what we had learned. Tomorrow, we will go over the results and begin our unit on Westward Expansion, which ties in perfectly with our read-aloud, Mr. Tucket.
Homework: Read 30 minutes in your practice range (this is especially important, as most students have realized they are behind in their goal for the nine weeks!)
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Tuesday Oct 8
Happy Tuesday!
Today, we spent the morning discovering text structure. We know that structure is how a piece of writing is built. Authors choose a specific structure to organize the thoughts they want to convey. It is our job to use that structure to help us understand. So far, we have studied:
-Cause and Effect
-Comparison and Contrast
-Problem and Solution
and
-Chronological (or Sequence)
We can skim for key words that help direct us as we read. The students did a nice job comparing two pieces about hurricanes, realizing that the text structure was related to the main idea.
In social studies, we will play a Jeopardy review game (now sent to the kids to help as an additional way to study!). I will remind students that the questions on the test will NOT be so straightforward. They will be more similar to the Study Island review questions, involving reading, interpretation, and application of the concepts we have learned.
Homework: Read for 30 minutes (a reading log has already been sent to their emails to complete for morning work)
Study for Social Studies---quiz a friend, use Study Island, make flash cards, cover half of your notebook page to quiz yourself, explain concepts to your parents, reread things that you struggled over
Today, we spent the morning discovering text structure. We know that structure is how a piece of writing is built. Authors choose a specific structure to organize the thoughts they want to convey. It is our job to use that structure to help us understand. So far, we have studied:
-Cause and Effect
-Comparison and Contrast
-Problem and Solution
and
-Chronological (or Sequence)
We can skim for key words that help direct us as we read. The students did a nice job comparing two pieces about hurricanes, realizing that the text structure was related to the main idea.
In social studies, we will play a Jeopardy review game (now sent to the kids to help as an additional way to study!). I will remind students that the questions on the test will NOT be so straightforward. They will be more similar to the Study Island review questions, involving reading, interpretation, and application of the concepts we have learned.
Homework: Read for 30 minutes (a reading log has already been sent to their emails to complete for morning work)
Study for Social Studies---quiz a friend, use Study Island, make flash cards, cover half of your notebook page to quiz yourself, explain concepts to your parents, reread things that you struggled over
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