It has been a pleasure getting to
know you all through conferences. If you
would like more time than we had allotted for conferences, feel free to contact
me at any time to ask more questions or check on your child’s progress. Thank you for your support! J
Lifeskill: This month
we are featuring the life skill of Responsibility. Learning about life skills and practicing
them adds to our positive learning environment at school. We will be talking about what it means to be
responsible during our class meet and greet time.
Writing: This month
we will be finishing our work on a piece called Classroom Monsters. Once I’m finished with grading them, I will
return the drafts to the students to type up.
Instructions for typing the final drafts will be coming home attached to
the drafts. Then we will continue exploring
the writing trait of Organization with a narrative story. A piece of writing that is strong in
organization should meet the following criteria:
- Has a
beginning, middle, and end
- Indicates
paragraphing with noticeable indentions
- Has an
interesting lead that hooks the reader
- Has
sequence/transition words such as first, then, after that . . . etc.
- Has an ending that doesn’t leave the reader hanging
Toward
the end of this month and into December, we will focus deeply on writing a personal
narrative that tells the story of something that has happened to us. One final note: handwriting and spelling are
still a bit of a sticking point- please encourage careful, best effort writing
across all subject areas.
Math: Topics this
month will be learning the concepts behind the multiplication algorithm (many
students know it but not why it works, vocabulary needed, or what it looks like
visually with base-ten blocks), practicing it, and applying multiplication in
real world settings. We will also get
into understanding division concepts for basic facts, begin to work with
division problems that are close to memorized math facts, and learn how to
interpret the amount that is left over (the remainder). We will work further with problem solving
strategies. Please keep reinforcing the
practicing of basic math facts at home. I need to have all
students MASTERING their multiplication table facts by the holiday break in
December. This is vital to
success in math this year. Kids who are
not fluent in their multiplication facts will struggle with new concepts. Students
should be working on them at home nightly.
There are great websites that make practicing fun through games. My hope is that even the busiest of parents
can find time to work with their kids if they practice the facts orally when
driving to and from after school activities.
Weekly math tutoring for math facts is very successful as long as
students are practicing their facts at home.
J Your child is working with a parent to quiz
and improve their fluency with their math facts and the parents are reporting
gains from most students. Please check
with your child to find out which ones they are working on and work on them at
home. Thank you to our math volunteers! You are a tremendous help to our class!
Reading: In class,
determining importance is the reading strategy that we are focusing on the next
6 weeks. We’ve talked that what’s
important to remember when reading is like the noodles strained in the colander
when making spaghetti. The water is the
information or details that aren’t important.
We’ve also talked about the fact that sometimes some of the most
interesting tidbits are details that aren’t “most important.” We are continuing
our High Five Book Club in class. The
challenge to the students is to read 500 pages by the end of this trimester,
Nov 3oth. Each time they finish a book;
they complete a summary of the book and turn it in. They receive a star shaped hole-punch in
their High Five Book Club bookmark and once they reach the goal, they receive a
prize. Check with your child about their
progress toward this goal.
Social
Studies:
Soon we will be learning about Coastal and Plateau Northwest Indians of our
state. Students will be exploring all
sorts of resources to deepen their understanding of these cultures. As part of our learning about Northwest
Indians, students will be creating a possibles bag. A possibles bag was a bag that Native
Americans or early explorers wore to carry items that might be needed in their
travels. Some items carried might be a
compass, dried meat, twine, candle, etc.
Directions and a pattern for this project will be coming home the week
after Thanksgiving and will be due mid January.
This project is a great way to spend some time one on one with your
student in our class.
Science: We will be finishing up our focus on
rocks and minerals this month. We’ve been
exploring the properties of rocks and minerals. The kids are learning about the
rock cycle, fossils, and erosion. Our
class has shown amazing gains in their understanding! They will take a post-test later this month. I will let you know the date.
The
school year is really speeding along!
This time of year is filled with excitement and distractions as the
holidays approach. Can’t believe I’m
already seeing Christmas stuff in the stores!
Please encourage your child to concentrate on learning in school. I also appreciate your efforts to help your
child complete homework on time with their BEST effort. It is making a HUGE difference in class. The children who complete their work have a
clearer understanding of the next day’s lessons and are more confident. This is a very special class-they are all such
sweethearts! We are beginning to really
hit our stride! I hope you have a safe and
a wonderful week!
Best
regards,
Karri
Allen
