Friday, August 28, 2015

Classroom News for the Week of August 31


News and Upcoming Events: 

Welcome to Mt. Washington, Mr. Fauth! Mr. Fauth has been assigned as our classroom aide this year. We are very happy to have him working with the students each day!

8/31 Room 12 will meet with our new Orchestra teacher, Ms. Korsmeyer to discuss this year's program.

9/1 Back to School Night 5:30 MPR, 6:00 and 6:30 Classroom Presentations, Rm. 12

9/4 Admissions Day - School Closed 

9/7 Labor Day - School Closed

Items Needed:
Thank you for all of the supplies! I think we are all stocked up on paper towels, post-its, and copy paper. 

We can still use: 

  • Highlighters (markers)
  • Clear tape in individual dispensers
Also, please click on the link below to view my Amazon wish list.


What's Going On This Week In Class:


Math: 
Addition and Subtraction Properties & Patterns; Problem Solving Strategies

Multiplication Madness (Fact Practice) 

Reading:

This week we will chapters 4-6 of Bridge to Terabithia (realistic fiction). Our focus will be on drawing conclusions and making inferences about characters based on their thoughts and actions. We will also be practicing making a prediction using text evidence.

We will also be reading other examples of realistic fiction from our Treasures anthology with Mr. Fauth.

Genre Blackout: Students will be challenged to read books from 9 different genres in the first reporting period. Ask your child about his/her progress.

Students will receive their first issue of Scholastic News.

Spelling & Vocabulary:
This week we begin studying Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and roots. This week's prefixes are sub (below, under) and trans (across, over)

Our words are:
  1. subway
  2. subject
  3. submerge
  4. subset
  5. subterranean
  6. translate
  7. transfer
  8. transform
  9. transparent
  10. transplant

Students should study both the meanings and spellings of these words. They will bring a study guide home on Monday. We will also complete activities and a pre-test in class to help them prepare for the quiz. The quiz will be Thursday this week due to the holiday


Writing:

Unit 1 of Writer's Workshop: Realistic Fiction continues. Our focus will be on using moments from real life to gather ideas for fictional stories.

Students will be rewriting their first drafts of a realistic fiction story. This is a baseline writing sample to mark their progress against throughout the unit.

PE:

Students will work in pairs to create an "Never-Before-Seen (NBS) Dance". Students will work with a criteria chart over the next two weeks to develop an original 2 minute dance to perform for their classmates.

Social Studies/Science:

Rotations begin Friday, September 11.

Arts:

Visual Arts: Symmetry in Art - Creating Name Mandalas

Reminders:

Tardies:
 Please make sure your child is at school and in line by the 8:06 bell. We try to start the school day at 8:11 promptly. Thank you for your help!

Homework:
Please check your child's Homework Log nightly and sign or initial after the work has been completed. Remind your child that completed homework and the HW log are due in class daily. 

Friday, August 21, 2015

Classroom News for the Week of August 24th

News and Upcoming Events: 

8/24 Please have all recommended supplies at school

8/25 Early Dismissal Tuesdays begin 1:30

9/1 Back to School Night 5:30 MPR, 6:00 and 6:30 Classroom Presentations, Rm. 12

9/4 Admissions Day - School Closed 

9/7 Labor Day - School Closed

Items Needed:

  • Highlighters
  • Clear tape in individual dispensers

What's Going On This Week In Class:


Math: 
Place Value Through the Millions Period; Rounding

Multiplication Madness (Fact Practice) 

Reading:

This week we will begin reading Katherine Peterson's Newbery-award winning book,  Bridge to Terabithia (realistic fiction). Our focus will be on drawing conclusions and making inferences about characters based on their thoughts and actions. Students will also be using Depth and Complexity icons to dig deeper into the text.

Genre Blackout: Students will be challenged to read books from 9 different genres in the first reporting period. 

Writing:

This week we begin Unit 1 of Writer's Workshop: Realistic Fiction. Our focus will be on using moments from real life to gather ideas for fictional stories.


Students will continue to write the narrative stories about how they were named.


PE:

Students will work in pairs to create an "Never-Before-Seen (NBS) Dance". Students will work with a criteria chart over the next two weeks to develop an original 2 minute dance to perform for their classmates.

Social Studies/Science:

Rotations begin Friday, September 11.

Arts:

Visual Arts: Symmetry in Art - Creating Name Mandalas

Reminders:

Tardies:
 Please make sure your child is at school and in line by the 8:06 bell. We try to start the school day at 8:11 promptly. Thank you for your help!

Homework:
Please check your child's Homework Log nightly and sign or initial after the work has been completed. Remind your child that completed homework and the HW log are due in class daily. 


Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Classroom News for the week of August 17th

Welcome Back to School!!!

News and Upcoming Events:

* 8/19 Emergency Cards due (Goldenrod sheet)
* 8/24 Suggested School Supplies due
* 8/25 First Early Dismissal Tuesday begins (1:30 p.m.)
* 9/1 Back to School Night 

  • 5:30 PTA Meeting and Welcome -MPR
  • Classroom Presentations will be at 6:00 and 6:30
* 9/4 Admissions Day (California admitted to the U.S.). School Closed.

What's Going On This Week In Class:

Class-building:
This week we will learn and practice the routines and procedures of room 12. In addition, we will work together to develop academic and social expectations for our class. We will also attend a school-wide behavior assembly this Thursday. 

We will participate in many fun language arts activities to help us all get to know one another even better. These activities will help us practice both listening and writing skills. 

Students will also take beginning of the year baseline assessments in reading, writing, and math.

Homework:

Your child will have short homework tasks to complete each evening this week. Please check your child's homework log every night and sign it when the work is completed. Help remind your child that his or her homework log must be at school every day. It's a good idea for students to keep it inside their homework folders.

Thank you for reading! Please check this blog next Monday (and every Monday) to stay informed about what's happening in our class. :)