This year continues to fly by! It's hard to believe May is just around the corner!
We're still working hard in our classroom. Our big idea this week is to listen and to read passages searching for the main idea. Students need to write the main idea in a sentence with 2-3 more detailed sentences that give support to the main idea. We'll be looking at picture books, poetry, and informational passages to practice these skills. In addition to this, we'll add on to our Word Work with words that are commonly misspelled and reinforce strategies to help students write these correctly. In writing, we'll be reading very short passages and jotting down brief notes. Students are being taught not to copy straight from the text but to summarize and write the facts in their own words. In math, we cover fractions for two days, take an assessment on Wednesday, and then begin a quick unit on time (how to read time down to the minute, how to figure how much time it takes to start and stop an activity or elapsed time). In science, we'll brainstorm our thoughts on what helped our seeds thrive and why some didn't =(. I bought sunflower seeds ("Mammoth" size!) to try next. We'll take a look at what's in soil and study clay, sand, humus and potting soil. We'll also chat about compost and the benefits of doing this for our environment. Thank you for all you do at home. Keep up the work with Achieve3000 and keep your kids reading! Amy Flowers [email protected]
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Wow! Our biography presentations turned out really well! Thank you to all the parents who were able to make it. It's always fun for our class to have an audience and they are growing more confident in their abilities to stand up and share.
Our big ideas this week: inferences and understanding words in context. We'll read passages and use our inferring skills to get a better grasp of the text. We'll also use background knowledge, substitute-another-word, read around the word, and look for clues as ways to help us figure out the meaning of unknown words that we come across in our reading. In writing, I'll be focusing on complex sentences and how to take notes. Our class will get to do some creative writing this week before heading back to researching for our next big writing project. In science, students are observing the growth of their tricolor pole beans. We'll be transplanting them soon and those seedlings will eventually make their way to our school garden. Our focus will be on pollination and types of soil for most of the week. In math, we continue....fractions! Please drill your student on multiplication facts so I can test them in class. I'll be trying to squeeze those timed drills into our day so we can really get those facts memorized. *We're having a popcorn party Wednesday afternoon. Woo hoo! This is their reward for keeping the cafeteria so very clean for third quarter =) *We're also having an ice cream party with a variety of toppings soon. This is their reward for being the top class at Douglas in Achieve3000 and accomplishing amazing scores! *Thursday afternoon is Field Day!!! Thanks for all you do, Amy Flowers [email protected] On Monday, students will enjoy an in-house science workshop on matter. Students will engage in hands-on activities as they explore solids, liquids, and gases.
This week in reading, our class will focus on main ideas and supporting details. Often, students struggle to retell a passage that they have read. Our goal is to be able to share the big idea in one sentence with three details from the text that back this up. We'll continue with Word Work and analyzing spelling patterns, blends, and syllables. In writing, we will finish up our biography reports. Most students have completed research and are working on a rough draft. I'm in the midst of editing those drafts with the students and then, they will finish writing their final piece. For fun, students will make posters of their famous person and share their reports on Friday. We plan to present these at 12:20 if you would like to join us. (1220-1:00 for presentations and lunch is 1:05-1:35). In math, our class is really doing well with fractions. We will have an assessment on Thursday and end our week with a fraction art project on Friday. Please continue to have your child log into Achieve3000 at home. Our class won the school award recently for the most participants! Not only was this a great honor, but I've seen a tremendous increase overall in reading scores. Keep up the good work! I'll be testing multiplication facts by allowing students to take timed drills this week. Please work on those facts. It will give your student a huge advantage on the EOG test and a jump start in 4th grade. Thank you for all your support! Amy Flowers [email protected] Welcome back, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful spring break with your family.
This week, we will focus on comparing/contrasting and sequencing during our literacy time. We'll use Oreos and Ritz crackers and a Venn diagram to see the similarities and differences between these two items. Then, we'll use art pieces to compare and contrast on Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday, we'll use the art pieces and sequence the events that occurred in the paintings. Finally, on Friday, we'll take a look at a reading passage and analyze the sequential steps and key words that are used to explain a process. In math, we'll work with fractions with different numerators but the same denominators. On Tuesday, we'll flip that around and look at fractions with the same numerators but different denominators. As we go through the week, we'll move toward using fractions in story problems. In science, our class starts a new unit on seeds and plants. We'll be studying the parts of a seed and a plant. We'll begin the process of planting beans in order to experience a hands-on approach to the life cycle of a plant. This will be a fun unit with lots of time to enjoy the outdoors and to work in our school garden. Thank you for all your support at home! Amy Flowers [email protected] |
AuthorHi! I'm Amy Flowers-mom to four great kids and one energetic puppy. I've been in education fifteen plus years and am passionate about igniting a love for learning, not just filling a bucket.. Archives
June 2018
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