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Reading - We continued to work on nonfiction reading strategies, focusing on how to preview a text. Good readers preview by identifying nonfiction text features, make guesses on an article's topic, and activate background knowledge on the given topic. We'll continue to work on nonfiction text next week, shifting our focus to main idea and supporting details.
Writing - Students got off to a great start with opinion writing. They flash drafted speeches on Wednesday about whether or not we should get more standing desks - and had a special guest audience of Mr. Dingman at the end of writing to hear the speeches. We then worked on brainstorming strategies for opinion topics. Math - We began our fractions unit! Students created different fractions and analyzed fractions in relation to each other. We'll continue with this next week, and begin looking at different fraction models, such as a number line. Social Studies - We wrapped up our Pilgrim books, studying the Pilgrims' first winter and the Wampanoag-Pilgrim relationship. Students will finish their books next week and do one more piece of writing from the perspective of a Pilgrim. Miscellaneous - As you know, today was my last day with students. Thank you for sharing your wonderful children with me; I wish you all the best in the remainder of the school year!
Reading - We continued our introduction to nonfiction by looking at text structure. Next week, we'll look at text structure as well as guessing a text's subject and activating background knowledge as we preview.
Writing - Students completed the information unit with a post-assessment that had them write an article about a content-area topic (Pilgrims or Motion and Matter) in a limited amount of time. It was great to see some students apply their learning about introductions and conclusions, as well as paragraphing and sections. In addition, many articles included an impressive amount of detail about the given topic; for most students, the Pilgrims. Math - We wrapped up our study of area and perimeter but will return to these complex topics throughout the year. Next: fractions! Social Studies - We had a talented guest teacher - a student - who taught a lesson on Chinese New Year and led students through a fun and relevant craft. In addition, students learned about the Mayflower Compact. Next week, we'll study the Pilgrims' first winter in Plimoth. (That should make us feel better about the coming colder temperatures!) Miscellaneous - No school next week for school vacation week. Have a great, safe holiday, and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Thank you to all those that were able to make it to our Writers' Celebration yesterday! My apologies for not timing it better - my goal was for it to end a little closer to 2:30! It was a little hard to predict how much time students would take teaching their reading buddies.
Reading - Our blogs are posted and students have shared some thoughtful comments about each other's recommendations. If you would like access to the blog, feel free to email me and I'll send you the Join Code! We also started our nonfiction unit. Students began by finding nonfiction text features, which help us understand important information. When used to preview a text, they help us guess the main idea. Writing - Students worked so hard to publish their information writing, and have a lot to be proud of. We'll start our next unit next week: opinion writing! Math - We continued working with area and perimeter. We'll experiment more with irregular shapes next week. Social Studies - We studied the Pilgrims' journey on the Mayflower - ask your student how they would describe the trip and why! Next week, we'll look at the Mayflower Compact and hopefully the Pilgrims' first winter. Miscellaneous - We've been working on active listening. For every 5 minutes of class-wide active listening, the class has earned a tally. Now that we've gotten 15 tallies, the class voted for a special day: Kids as Teachers Day. This coming Friday, February 12, students who chose to be teachers will run an activity, from Open Circle to Writing to Math. I, personally, am looking forward to being a student! We'll also exchange valentines that day - please see my earlier post with regards to valentines expectations. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
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February 2016
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