A peak into our week....

In Reading we have spent lots of time talking about how to choose "just right" books and why it is so very important. This week, we are working on reading "faster, stronger, longer". Today and tomorrow we are focusing on reading stronger and what that means to each student. Here is what we created to explain what it means to read stronger:

After determining overall what students should do to read stronger, I asked each of them to choose one area that they felt was weakest for them to focus on during independent reading time. Tomorrow they will write about what they worked on and how they feel they can continue to improve in that area to be a stronger reader.

In math we are working mostly on multiplication and division word problems using multiplicative comparisons. Some examples of problems we have used are:

A red scarf cost $3. A blue scarf cost 6 times more than a red scarf. How much does a blue scarf cost?

A book cost $18. That is 3 times more than a DVD. How much does the DVD cost?

We also using some time first thing in the morning to build and strengthen our number sense using a "number of the day" activity where students have to use the number in multiple ways.

This week we are a trying a "stations" or "centers" routine for math. Students work in groups of 4 and rotate through different stations. One of the stations is teacher lead, one uses their computers, one reviews 3rd grade skills to be maintained, one works on problem solving, and the last station is a game. I have used this type of approach successfully in years past and hope that it proves to be a productive and effective method this year. Here is one of our games, "Pamlico Pirates Reappear":

In writing students have chosen either their best or worst day ever to be the first idea that they take through the writing process to compose a narrative story. We began by planning and now students are drafting and conferring with me about their drafts. For this first piece of writing our only revision will be to add enough to make a 3 paragraph story and then edit. Later we will focus specifically on skills such as descriptive language, "hooking" your reader, including action, using transition words, etc.

Our class rules and specials schedule:

                              

Reminders:

- Spirit wear orders due this Friday

- Wed August 19th is an early release day

- Mon-Thurs homework is to read for at least 20 minutes and write for at least 10 minutes

Welcome back to HES 

&

 to the 2015-16 school year!

We are off to a great start here in room 108! Thank you so much for all of the supplies you donated, we will work hard to make them last as long as possible :)

A few important reminders/info:

- please return beginning of the year forms
- school now ends at 2:50
- if your child's afternoon transportation plans change after they get to school, please call the office (919-732-6137)- I don't always get to check email and phones messages until after dismissal
- students may bring snack each day, they may also keep water at their seat but may not bring candy or other drinks in the classroom

Homework Info:

To start off the year homework will be:

- 20 minutes of  reading
This can be independent, being read aloud to, or a combo- please don't hesitate to continue reading aloud to your child even through 4th and 5th grade, especially if there is a challenging book that they really want to read!

-write for 10 minutes in your Writer's notebook
This week I am giving students an assigned topic. In class we are generating ideas for an "idea box" that will be in their notebooks. Starting next week they will choose their own topics to write about each night. While my expectation is NOT that this writing be like a final edited copy or "perfect", I do expect students to proofread their work for capital letters, punctuation, spelling of high frequency words, and that sentences make sense. 

*Math homework will be completed in class during our "study hall" time at the end of the day. If students use this time wisely and have a little extra time they can start on their 10 minutes of writing at school. If a student isn't working hard or is wasting time I will send home the math homework to be completed over the weekend.

Important dates:
July 23    Parent Info Night  
  AIG/EC-4:00-5:00,  2 reg classroom sessions- 5:00 or 6:00

Aug 19       Early Release @ 11:35*
(*please note the time change from last year)

Sept 11      End of the first 9 weeks