Update for Week of 11/10/14

Hope you had a nice weekend! Check out some of the fun things that we will be learning on the AVE:

In writing, the students will be choosing a topic for their first informational piece, a historical information mini-book. We will be looking at examples to study the work of other authors. This group is full of eloquent speakers, yet some are better communicators during class discussions than on paper. We are working on "writing how you speak!"

In reading, we are reading Basket Moon by Mary Lyn Ray. With this, the students are learning how to use questioning to make sense of the text.

In social studies, we are kicking off our unit on the causes, events, and results of the American Revolution. Last week, I told the students that Mr. Roaden was considering a pencil tax ($1/lost pencil). You should have seen some of the notes that the students wrote to him! During the week, I'm going to let them all in on the secret that he is definitely not enforcing a pencil tax, yet they are probably feeling very similar to how the colonists reacted under the rule of King George III. This unit is very fun!

In science, we are studying how water changes states from solid to liquid to gas and the temperatures at which those changes happen. We will also investigate how clouds are formed. We're doing some really fun activities! The students are observing, drawing, and taking notes. Check their science journals and/or have them log in to Edmodo and view what they've put in their "back packs."

In math, we are continuing our unit on metric measurement conversions. Right now we are focusing on cm, m, and km. Please be sure to check in with your child and look at the stuff we've done in class. They will have homework this week! Big areas of focus: converting, adding and subtracting (which may require converting beforehand), and solving word problems involving measurements. The students are using tape diagrams to model the word problems. This is new for them, so they'll need to use some good think time and will maybe even need to talk through the problems out loud. Each of these areas of focus will be on the homework. After students have had lots of practice with the length measurements, we'll move quickly through grams/kilograms and liters/milliliters.

Please be sure to have conversations with your child about the work being done in the class. This can be a great way to evaluate how your child is doing. Checking in to see their math homework is also a great way to see what we're doing and how your child is doing with it... even if your child does it at his or her after school care. Ask them to see it! I want them to be proud to show you!

Don't forget that thelearningodyssey.com is a great tool for extra practice in math and reading! The activities are directly linked to your child's MAP data. Login information should be in your child's agenda.

School Announcements:
*The Book Fair will be open Friday, November 14th through Friday, November 21st.
*Literary Cafe flyers went home last week.

Community Event:
The CDLS 5k race is coming up on DECEMBER 6th! It is a
fun race through Medlock Park and all money raised goes to the CDLS
(Cornelia de Lange) Foundation. Please pass the word.

Thanks for reading! Have a great week!