Welcome back to a very cold week of school.  I want to take a moment to please remind you to please send your child with their snow pants, coats, boots, hats, and gloves/mittens every day during the winter, even if there isn’t snow on the ground.  These extra layers will help keep them warm.  If students choose to wear shorts to school, they need to wear leggings or something under them so that they do not have exposed skin outside.  Our number one priority is always safety, especially with these cold days ahead.

 

In Math, we are working hard on our word problems unit.  Students are being taught strategies to attack these difficult problems.  For every problem, they are encouraged to draw a picture and write an equation before doing any calculations.  Our focus is on understanding what is happening in the problem rather than rushing to solve.  Their 2nd Quick Quiz will be sent home tomorrow.  As always, these quizzes should be saved as a study guide for their end of unit assessment.  We will spend two more weeks on this unit, moving into two-step and multi-step problems, before taking our assessment the week we return from winter break.

For our Word Study, we are focusing on spelling.  Students are taking a pre-test every Monday to determine their spelling list for the week, then taking their post-test on Friday.  I am already seeing better spelling as students are recognizing their own errors.  Please ensure your child is studying these words throughout the week.

In Reading, we are continuing to research for our state projects.  This week we will wrap up researching out of our large state books, and next week students will be given the opportunity to fill in gaps in their research using other books and online resources such as Epic and Google.

In  Writing, we are working on our final practice opinion piece before the final one next week that will be used to determine their report card grades.  This week’s topic is whether or not they feel schools should be year-round.  Please encourage your child to talk to you through the pros and cons at home as they prepare to write their essays.  They were given data in the form of an article as well as graphs and charts to look through today to determine which side of the argument they fell on. Their final opinion topic next week will be centered around whether or not students should have access to devices (laptops, computers, iPads) all day, creating a one-to-one classroom environment.  Students may start gathering data now, but will also be given multiple data resources next week.

In Science, students are exploring the internal and external structures of animals that help them adapt to and survive in their environments.

 

Looking ahead…

• Our school we be participating in One School, One Book again this year.  If your family would like to purchase the book, please send in $6 by this Friday so that we can get books ordered.
• Our 2nd Annual Family Genius Night will be held from 5-8pm on Monday, February 11, 2019.  If you plan to attend, please submit the number of family members planning to come on our Google Form.  This will help ensure that we have enough supplies for a fun and engaging evening for all.  Also, please keep an eye on your child’s purple folder tomorrow for additional information.