October 8th -Updates in our classroom
TESTING...TESTING...1...2...3...
Yesterday, students took the District Writing Assessment. This week, the district has also been administering a reading test called DIBELS. Students have been pulled from class and given approximately 10 minutes or less, to take the test.
Next week, ITBS tests begin. I will be sending home a schedule on Friday. Thank you to Hoover families for all of the help that goes into preparing snacks for the test days!
Language Arts: This week, we began exploring some reading skills and strategies that fit in our CAFE literacy theme. CAFE is an acronym that stands for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary. We focused on the comprehension strategy of evaluating, as we used Houghton-Mifflon texts on the Revolutionary War figures, as resources. We additionally have delved into how VOICE is an important element in our writing. Students have had several opportunities to gain awareness of their own voice in their writing and to discover strategies to enhance their creative writing. Students should be coming home with writing assignments twice a week, typically. Every night, students are expected to read texts for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Language Arts: This week, we began exploring some reading skills and strategies that fit in our CAFE literacy theme. CAFE is an acronym that stands for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary. We focused on the comprehension strategy of evaluating, as we used Houghton-Mifflon texts on the Revolutionary War figures, as resources. We additionally have delved into how VOICE is an important element in our writing. Students have had several opportunities to gain awareness of their own voice in their writing and to discover strategies to enhance their creative writing. Students should be coming home with writing assignments twice a week, typically. Every night, students are expected to read texts for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Students continue to take ownership for their own spelling. I encourage misspellings in our classroom! I would rather have students use words that fit their purpose rather than refrain from using words for fear of a mistake. For this reason, I offer ways to identify errors, recognize patterns in mispellings, find strategies to correct the spelling. We learned two new ways this week and will continue new strategies this upcoming week. I encourage risk taking and misspellings can be the result of an effort to expand vocabulary and use words that are not as familiar from experiences.
Students have been picking up a great deal of new Spanish phrases! We began a new week of conversational phrases, learned a song to help with identifying body parts in Spanish, and focused on using mnemonic devices. I encourage students to use these at home and at school as often as possible!
Science / Health: We began our Life Skills unit this week. We began our unit by setting ground rules for our class, addressing issues and ideas of self-image and decision-making. Students reflected on life experiences that have shaped them, and the choices they face on a daily basis. We learned about ways to clarify, consider alternatives and make choices that consider consequences. We are now leaning about cigarette smoking and bio-feedback. Students have gained a better understanding of the short-term and long-term effects of smoking and have reflected on personal reasons for not smoking.
Social Studies (Mrs. Whittington): We are exploring with the North American European explorers. We are learning the way men such as Christopher Columbus, Ponce DeLeon, and Robert De LaSalle had an impact on the settlement of the New World and the cultures of the native people who inhabited the lands they claimed for the Kings and Queens of Europe.
Social Studies (Mrs. Whittington): We are exploring with the North American European explorers. We are learning the way men such as Christopher Columbus, Ponce DeLeon, and Robert De LaSalle had an impact on the settlement of the New World and the cultures of the native people who inhabited the lands they claimed for the Kings and Queens of Europe.
5th Grade Math: As we begin our unit on geometry, students are learning to identify ways to measure angles using familiar shapes. We will continue to gain a solid understanding of using protractors, compasses, and other tools to classify, measure and recognize angles and shapes. Students also have been using U.S. census data to gain a better understanding of using charts to classify data. This is part of the "American Tour" component of Unit 3. Students should have brought home a family letter for the beginning of the unit as well as a study link homework key.
6th Grade Math (Mrs. Whittington): Having finished our unit on operations with whole numbers and decimals, we started this week on variables formulas and graphs. Your child should have brought home the parent letter explaining the unit, giving key vocabulary and the answer key for homework assignments. Again, if your child is having a hard time with a problem, please alert me by circling it in red so I can spend some extra time with your student.
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