3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Newsletter
September 21, 2009
Glenn’s Ditch
Last week we discovered that leaches, sticklebacks, caddis flies and arthropods live in Glen’s Ditch. We also looked at an aerial photograph of Gustavus, located Glen’s Ditch, and then decided that it was man made rather than natural. We will continue to find out more about the history of Glen’s Ditch. On Friday we will make another trip to Glen’s Ditch on Friday and walk all the way to the beach to see where it ends and how it changes along the way.
Quilting
Last Friday we started a quilting project in Math and Language Arts that we will be continuing throughout the school year. We haven’t got the needle and thread out yet! We talked about what quilting was, read a story, and looked at some quilt blocks. Students started designing their own quilt blocks. If you are interested in helping in any way with this ongoing project please let me know! Possible ways to help could be coming into the classroom to assist students with sewing and cutting or coming to show students your own quilting project or family quilt. We are also looking for more fabric if you have any extra!
Paragraph a Week
The paragraph assignment this week is “Favorite Place.”
Word of the Week: masterpiece
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Newsletter
September 14, 2009
Classroom Economy
Today was payday! Each student was paid for their jobs and for the days they were in school last week. Desk rent will be due on Friday. Starting this week students can also receive fines!
Glenn’s Ditch
Our trip to Glen’s Ditch on Friday was a lot of fun. Students explored different areas of the ditch looking for animal and plant life. We will talk more this week about the focus of our year-long study and make another trip Friday afternoon.
Language Arts
We will have a “normal” schedule this week for Language Arts. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have our Literature Group Meetings. We started our first book last week; “The Chalk Box Kid.” We are reading this as a whole class with some second graders joining us. After we finish this book the class will be split into smaller groups of 2, 3, or 4 students reading and studying the same book. Occasionally, there will be homework assignments for Literature Groups. It might be reading homework (it can count towards reading minutes in planners) or writing associated with the book that is being read.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we will work on writing skills and practice a variety of forms of writing. Different skills will be covered each week. We have been working on writing complete sentences and capitalization and punctuation skills. We will work on paragraph writing this week.
Each Friday there will be a spelling list. Each student has an individualized spelling list that they should study at home. Each Monday they write their spelling words in their planners. These words will remain on their lists until they are mastered.
Monthly, we will take a trip to the library as part of a year-long genre and library skills study. On our first Kate taught us about the Dewey Decimal System. This had come in handy as the students are reorganizing our classroom books on our new bookshelves!
Each week there will be a writing assignment given as homework on Monday and due on Friday. The assignment will be described in detail on a paper that is brought home in the Red Folder on Mondays. It will usually consist of a composition paper covering skills and/or topics that we are working on in class. The assignments will differ slightly depending upon which grade your child is in.
Paragraph a Week
The paragraph assignment this week is “Paragraph Sandwich.”
Word of the Week: atom
September 14, 2009
Classroom Economy
Today was payday! Each student was paid for their jobs and for the days they were in school last week. Desk rent will be due on Friday. Starting this week students can also receive fines!
Glenn’s Ditch
Our trip to Glen’s Ditch on Friday was a lot of fun. Students explored different areas of the ditch looking for animal and plant life. We will talk more this week about the focus of our year-long study and make another trip Friday afternoon.
Language Arts
We will have a “normal” schedule this week for Language Arts. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have our Literature Group Meetings. We started our first book last week; “The Chalk Box Kid.” We are reading this as a whole class with some second graders joining us. After we finish this book the class will be split into smaller groups of 2, 3, or 4 students reading and studying the same book. Occasionally, there will be homework assignments for Literature Groups. It might be reading homework (it can count towards reading minutes in planners) or writing associated with the book that is being read.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we will work on writing skills and practice a variety of forms of writing. Different skills will be covered each week. We have been working on writing complete sentences and capitalization and punctuation skills. We will work on paragraph writing this week.
Each Friday there will be a spelling list. Each student has an individualized spelling list that they should study at home. Each Monday they write their spelling words in their planners. These words will remain on their lists until they are mastered.
Monthly, we will take a trip to the library as part of a year-long genre and library skills study. On our first Kate taught us about the Dewey Decimal System. This had come in handy as the students are reorganizing our classroom books on our new bookshelves!
Each week there will be a writing assignment given as homework on Monday and due on Friday. The assignment will be described in detail on a paper that is brought home in the Red Folder on Mondays. It will usually consist of a composition paper covering skills and/or topics that we are working on in class. The assignments will differ slightly depending upon which grade your child is in.
Paragraph a Week
The paragraph assignment this week is “Paragraph Sandwich.”
Word of the Week: atom
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Newsletter
September 8, 2009
Classroom Economy
We will be starting a classroom economy this week and our classroom currency will be called, “Bear Bucks!” Students will earn a salary by performing their jobs as students. There will be fines and bills that will need to be paid and bonus bucks that can be earned. While participating in our classroom economy students will be practicing math skills as well as learning more about economics. More information will come home tomorrow with your child.
Saxon Math
We started our new Saxon Math Curriculum last week! You will see some pages in your child’s Red Folder today. We start with a Power-Up worksheet which gives students daily practice on their math facts as well as a few other warm-up activities. It is like stretching before running the mile! Then, we begin the daily assignment—which includes a new concept. I rotate through the different grade levels to teach the new concept while the students are working on their assignments. Often, new concepts will be introduced at our Morning Meetings and we will discuss them as a group.
When correcting math assignments I give students a “grade” of a percentage correct. If a student does not get at least 80% of an assignment correct I ask them to re-do the problems they got wrong and return the assignment to me. These re-do assignments will come home in your child’s Red Folder. If I feel that a student needs more practice with a concept I will re-teach the concept in class and give the student a chance to re-do the assignment in class.
Technology and Book Reports
We will be creating book video book reports during technology! Each child should bring a book to school by Monday, September 14th that they have recently finished reading. Please contact me if this is a problem.
Glenn’s Ditch
We will be taking a field trip to Glen’s Ditch on Friday afternoon to begin to develop our year-long scientific study. Stay tuned for more details about this study!
Book Orders
Book orders were due today! I will wait to order until tomorrow since we did not have school yesterday. (I forgot about the three-day weekend when I set the due date!) Don’t forget that every dollar that is spent earns points for our class to spend on more books for the classroom!
Paragraph a Week
The paragraph assignment this week is”Capitalization Crazy.” Please see the attached assignment sheet.
Word of the Week: molecule
Each week a word will be given for students to define and use in a sentence. These words will be from books we are reading or vocabulary from things we are studying. Students should write the definitions and sentences on an index card (or something similar in size). They can be illustrated too! These definitions and sentences will be displayed on a word wall in the classroom. The “Word of the Week” is an optional assignment.
September 8, 2009
Classroom Economy
We will be starting a classroom economy this week and our classroom currency will be called, “Bear Bucks!” Students will earn a salary by performing their jobs as students. There will be fines and bills that will need to be paid and bonus bucks that can be earned. While participating in our classroom economy students will be practicing math skills as well as learning more about economics. More information will come home tomorrow with your child.
Saxon Math
We started our new Saxon Math Curriculum last week! You will see some pages in your child’s Red Folder today. We start with a Power-Up worksheet which gives students daily practice on their math facts as well as a few other warm-up activities. It is like stretching before running the mile! Then, we begin the daily assignment—which includes a new concept. I rotate through the different grade levels to teach the new concept while the students are working on their assignments. Often, new concepts will be introduced at our Morning Meetings and we will discuss them as a group.
When correcting math assignments I give students a “grade” of a percentage correct. If a student does not get at least 80% of an assignment correct I ask them to re-do the problems they got wrong and return the assignment to me. These re-do assignments will come home in your child’s Red Folder. If I feel that a student needs more practice with a concept I will re-teach the concept in class and give the student a chance to re-do the assignment in class.
Technology and Book Reports
We will be creating book video book reports during technology! Each child should bring a book to school by Monday, September 14th that they have recently finished reading. Please contact me if this is a problem.
Glenn’s Ditch
We will be taking a field trip to Glen’s Ditch on Friday afternoon to begin to develop our year-long scientific study. Stay tuned for more details about this study!
Book Orders
Book orders were due today! I will wait to order until tomorrow since we did not have school yesterday. (I forgot about the three-day weekend when I set the due date!) Don’t forget that every dollar that is spent earns points for our class to spend on more books for the classroom!
Paragraph a Week
The paragraph assignment this week is”Capitalization Crazy.” Please see the attached assignment sheet.
Word of the Week: molecule
Each week a word will be given for students to define and use in a sentence. These words will be from books we are reading or vocabulary from things we are studying. Students should write the definitions and sentences on an index card (or something similar in size). They can be illustrated too! These definitions and sentences will be displayed on a word wall in the classroom. The “Word of the Week” is an optional assignment.
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