December 1, 2017
Happy Friday Families! And... HAPPY DECEMBER!! ❄️⛄️🧤🧣
It is completely surreal to think that we'll be saying goodbye to 2017 in just 31 days... and 2018 is just right around the corner! Where did the year go?! I truly feel that every year goes by faster than the last. How are you going to spend the last 31 days of 2017?
On another note, it was great to meet and discuss with everyone during conferences last week. I loved that I was able to learn more about the students through conversations with you all! Whether you spent the Thanksgiving break near or far from home, shamelessly indulging in deliciousness, and/or scoping out the best Black Friday deals, I truly hope it was a time to remember that there are many reasons to be thankful all year round.
Here are the targets we will focus on as we work through the beginning of the second grading period:
Literacy
*Our students recently wrapped up reading our classroom read-aloud text, The Road to Freedom. The story was narrated from the point of view of a young girl who is traveling on the Underground Railroad with her mother in hopes of making it North to freedom. Our students were highly engaged throughout text and had many great discussions related to topics raised within the story.
*We also shared our Book in a Box projects today! The students did such an awesome job putting together their projects. I was genuinely impressed by the amount of hard work and creativity!
Writing
*We are currently using The Road to Freedom as a springboard for various writing samples. We have practiced writing short-constructed responses and we are currently planning and writing an opinion paper based on topics/issues related to slavery from the book.
Math
*We are currently working on multiplying two-digit numbers by three-digit numbers using various strategies. We will have a check-in next week to assess what we've learned. Our students will start division at the end of next week and emphasize the partial quotients and long division algorithms to solve these problems.
Social Studies
*Last week we wrapped up our learning about slavery and how it affected the growth of Colonial America. We will be diving into Government/Civics in the coming weeks and our students will start to discuss the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Science
*Our students covered the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. We’ve been learning about the attributes and characteristics of each, as well as how they interact with one another. We are now focusing on determining which of Earth’s systems interact to produce weather and climate. Students will be creating a diagram and giving a weather report about one of their examples. Stay tuned for weather news you can use.
Spelling
*Our students are currently working through their Words Their Way spelling program. Most weeks, your child will bring home a new set of words to sort and use for homework tasks. Each spelling menu is due on Friday with three completed activities.
Reminders/Upcoming Events
Dec. 4th (Monday): Reading MAP test
Dec. 5th (Tuesday): Early Dismissal @ 2:00PM
Dec. 6th (Wednesday): Math MAP test
**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack. Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!
** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you and have a fantastic weekend!
- Ms. Nguyen
