Week of January 16-20

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!  I hope everyone had a fabulous long weekend!  I’m going to tie in Martin Luther King, Jr. with the notion of declaring independence this week.  The colonists declared independence because they weren’t being treated fairly and, ironically, Dr. King led the Civil Rights Movement for similar reasons.

Math

This week will be pretty intense in math as the kids learn to compare, add, and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators.  Please feel free to help at home as needed.  This is the time of year when knowing those multiplication facts becomes crucial.

BOB

This is another reminder that the BOB competition is coming to a close.  Please encourage your child to be an active participant.  If you need ideas for ways to motivate and help your child, please look at last week’s blog post.  I’d love to see us win the school competition and it would be really cool to send a few on to the district competition this spring!

Upcoming Tests:

Social Studies (Declaration of Independence) on Friday
Word Study (Antonyms) Quiz on Friday

Here is what we’ll be learning over the next 4 days!

Social Studies:  Watch out, parents!  This week I’ll be asking the kids to declare independence and there’s no telling from what or whom they will declare it!  We will wrap up this unit by interpreting the Declaration and discussing what declaring independence actually meant for the colonies…war!

Math:  Fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals!  We will be comparing, estimating, adding, and subtracting.  The assessment for this unit over fractions and data analysis will take place late next week.

Word Study:  Let’s talk about antonyms!

Writing:  Our study of opinion writing will delve a little further as the kids begin to examine their collecting and select a seed for an opinion piece.

Reading:  Literature circles!  Keep on keeping on with those literature circle books!

Act-It-Outs and Slave Artifacts

       Below you will find videos of the students acting out some of the tensions which led to the Revolutionary War. The kids always love performing and they're anxious to share these videos with you here on the blog! Enjoy! :o)

Proclamation of 1763

Quartering Act

Stamp Act


The Boston Tea Party 0

The Boston Massacre

      I also wanted to share with you some really interesting artifacts, one of our students, Sophie, brought back from her visit to see family over Winter Break.  These artifacts are old items from an actual slave house.  It was fascinating to be able to examine these firsthand with the kids!  Thanks, Sophie and family for sharing!

Week of January 2-6

Battle of the Books

The BOB competition is looming!  It will take place in early February, so please have a chat with your child about BOB.  Here are some ways you can help them get ready for the competition.

1)        Ask your child how many books he/she has read.

2)      Have a discussion with your child about each book he/she has read.

3)      Encourage your child to read more.

4)      Help your child develop a plan for reading more BOB books.  E.g, Finish your literature circle reading at home and you can read a separate BOB book at home.

5)      Encourage your child.  Remind your child that by reading 7 BOB books he/she can take the quiz for an opportunity to compete in the district level competition!

 Puberty Night
Please remember that Puberty Night is this Thursday.  The girls' session is at 6:15 and the boys' session is at 7:15.

Upcoming Tests:

Word Study Quiz over the rules for comma use on Friday

Facts Quiz

This Week’s Learning
Social Studies:  Having wrapped up our study of the tensions which led to the Revolutionary War we will now delve into the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence!  Warning:  The kids will be declaring their own independence as well!
Math:  Over the next couple of weeks we will continue learning about fractions as well as exploring data analysis with line plots and stem-and-leaf plots.
Word Study:  We are still working on commas and today I sent home a list of the rules for comma use to help them with their homework as they prepare for Friday’s quiz.
Writing:  This week I’ve introduced opinion writing and I am immersing the kids in several different examples of opinion writing to help them understand what it is, why it’s done, techniques used, and to help them generate ideas for their own opinion piece.
Reading:  We are going strong on our 2^nd round of literature circles!  The kids seem to be actively engaged and enjoying their books.

Week of January 2-6

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a fun and restful break!  Happy New Year 2012!

In today's Wednesday folder you will find a form for Puberty Night.  If you would like to attend, please respond by Friday.  The girls' puberty night is at 6:15 on January 12 and the boys' puberty night will be at 7:15 on January 12.

Aside from a facts quiz, there will be no tests this week.  However, we will be starting lots of new units!

Here is what we're learning in class:
Social Studies:  I will become "king" this week as we begin learning about the tensions that led to the Revolutionary War.  The students will get to live life as a colonist dealing with taxation without representation.  It should be fun!
Math:  Over the next couple of weeks we will continue learning about fractions as well as exploring data analysis with line plots and stem-and-leaf plots.
Word Study:  Our focus this week is commas.  The kids are having a lot of trouble knowing when and how to use commas so we will be learning the rules and practicing.  I found a great website that has all of the rules on it which you and your child may use for extra practice http://www.towson.edu/ows/modulecomma.htm.
Writing:  The final touches on our second open genre unit are happening now and next week we will begin a unit on opinion writing.
Reading:  The kids are excited to be kicking off our second round of literature circles with a focus on BOB books.

Williamsburg Call and Response Songs

          Below you will find the call and response songs written and performed by students to the tune of an African-American slave song called "Juba."  I asked the students to create and perform these songs to show the different aspects of colonial Williamsburg during the 1700's.  These turned out great!  I was so impressed with their creativity and their rhythm!

This first video is about the Governor's Palace and government in colonial Williamsburg.

The Dame School and the education of girls in colonial times.

Life as a craftsman, specifically a shoemaker in Williamsburg.

Church life in colonial Williamsburg

Life as a student at the College of William and Mary which wasn't really a college at all, but a school for boys.



Week of December 12-16

Upcoming Test:
Social Studies Test over Williamsburg (chapter 9) on Wednesday
Please encourage your child to take the online to tutorial.

Sing-a-Long
We are having our annual holiday sing-a-long on Thursday.  Our class will be joining Mrs. Stump's class in a round of "Feliz Navidad," so I am requesting that students bring in sunglasses and a scarf to go with our dance moves.  Please send these items tomorrow if possible so we can have a "dress rehearsal."

Holiday Party
Our holiday party will be on Friday at 1:00pm!  Mrs. Purdy and Mrs. Lossin are working hard to make it a blast and I can't wait to see what we end up doing!

Winter Break
Enjoy two weeks at home with your kiddos after Friday!  I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Here’s what we’re learning this week!
Social Studies:  We are wrapping up our unit on colonial Williamsburg.
Math:  We are beginning our annual holiday shopping spree this week!  This is a fun, realistic way to have the kids do pretend shopping on a budget.  They will learn to calculate tax, make economic decisions, and determine what percentage of their money was spent on each person.
Word Study:  Some of the kids are still confused about possessives so we are doing some review over these rules.
Writing:  We are continuing to write genre pieces and we are beginning to draft them on the computer this week.
Reading:  The kids will be having their final lit. circle meetings, working on literature circle projects and presenting them later this week.  :o)

Week of December 5-9

Husky Helping House Reminder:
Please send in any purchased items for Husky Helping House no later than this Friday, December 9th.  Once again, I'd like to thank you all for your generosity!  Our child is going to have a wonderful Christmas!  If you happen to have any clothing boxes or unwanted wrapping paper at home, please send those in as well.  We are going to have a wrapping party with Ms. Poteet's kindergarten class next week.

Girls' Night Out:
This Friday is Girls' Night Out from 2:30-4:00pm.  If your daughter signed up to attend, we will be staying after Friday to paint nails, eat pizza, and make friendship bracelets!  It's going to be a lot of fun!  If you have not signed up, but would like to the cost is $25, as this was my Harmony Harvest auction item. 

Upcoming Tests:
Facts Quiz on Friday
Word Study Quiz over Possessive Nouns on Friday

Here's what we're learning this week!
Social Studies:  The kids will be given the opportunity this week to experience the daily life of a colonist in colonial Williamsburg by visiting stations that are set up around the room which require them to do activities colonial people would have actually participated in during the 1700's.
Math:  We are still plowing through fractions.  I am working hard to review each concept over and over as we go because this has been somewhat intimidating for the kiddos.  This week we will be delving into how to convert fractions to decimals and percents, which will set the stage for a fun project next week!
Word Study:  Our focus this week is on possessive nouns.
Writing:  Upon the completion of our recent open genre study, I have noticed that the kids need a lot of practice on paragraphing.  Therefore, we are going to do another genre study where we really focus on using paragraphs effectively.
Reading:  Literature cirlces are in their final stages and by the end of the week, each student will be assigned a literature circle project to complete to demonstrate their understanding of the novel they read.