Week of November 1-5

Sorry it has taken me a while to update the class blog.  Our family had a very busy weekend.

Here are some reminders about things coming up in the next couple of weeks.

1)  Parent-Teacher Conferences are Thursday, November 4 or Tuesday, November 9 from 2:40pm-6:00pm.  There are still spots available, so please sign up.

2)  Progress Reports go home Wednesday, November 3rd.
3)  November 10 is also our next Early Release Day.

4)  A field trip form will be coming home in the Wednesday folder for the production of "Nutcracker in a Nutshell."  Please send in your forms and money for this as soon as possible.  The show will be December 3rd.

Here is what's coming up this week in Mrs. Whitley's room!

Upcoming Tests:

Facts Tests

Thursday:  Social Studies Test (chapter 6-1st colonies) and Word Study (ed and ing)

Friday:  Math Test (Dvision)

Math:  How do I divide whole numbers and decimals?

We will continue to cover division of 1 and 2-digit whole numbers, estimation strategies in division, and dividing decimals.  Please learn those facts, kids!

Reading:  How do I effectively participate in literature circles?

This week we will continue reading our literature circle books.  The kids are doing great so far, though a few missed their deadlines for the first meeting.  This is a reminder to the kids that reading and assignments are primarily intended to be completed during class, but can be taken home to complete if necessary.  It is crucial that they complete their reading in order to effectively participate in the discussions.

Social Studies:  What were the first colonies in the New World?

We are finishing up our study of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth and we will be testing on Thursday.  This unit will be followed by a more in-depth study of the colonial regions among the 13 original colonies.

Word Study:  How do words change when you add the suffixes -ed and -ing?

I felt the students still needed some extra practice on this and we added some more rules such as adding a k to words ending in the letter c.  For example, picnic becomes picnicked or picnicking.  Our quiz over this will be Thursday and we will make our own personal dictionaries during Word Study on Friday.

Writing:  What is a narrative article and how do I collect ideas for one?

With the first On-Demand writing unit complete, we will begin exploring narrative articles.  These articles are basically personal narratives the kids will write to tell about a time when something happened in their lives to that taught them a valuable lesson.