Here Comes October!

The first month of school has come and gone, and we've settled into our routines.  New classroom job responsibilities are assigned each Monday, and I'm glad to say that our geraniums are thriving thanks to our "Gardeners"; lunches make it to the cafeteria without fail due to our "Lunch Luggers"; and I have come to rely on my "Teacher's Assistant" each week to help with distributing materials. 

We continue to work on reading comprehension strategies, and have fine tuned the difference between predicting and inferring while reading.  Since students understand what kinds of questions might be asked for comprehension, they can organize a strategy for answering it.  Please remind your child to read every night.  They are required to read for at least 20 minutes on four different nights over the course of a week.  They should be planning accordingly if they know they may be out one night.  Also, encourage them to read aloud to you (or a younger sibling or even the family pet).  This promotes fluency which contributes to overall comprehension.

In science, we performed an activity last week that had us thinking like scientists.  Ask your student about "saving Fred".  I was impressed by how students really thought outside the box to solve the problem and worked together with a teammate. 

In math, we have been learning how to multiply by two digit numbers.  Today we expanded that to multiplying 3-digit numbers and 4-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers.  Students were seeing the patterns that develop when we practice these algorithms. 

October will bring more writing, reading, plenty more math, and content material.  I look forward to it all.

 

Off to a Great Start

Our classroom is really beginning to buzz as we get into the groove of our daily routine and start to dive into various content areas.  We've been learning about the scientific method as we use water and Gatorade to grow grass on our window sill.  Which will provide better nourishment for our grass?  Stayed tuned for the results! 

In social studies, our class has begun to learn about geography; we're studying globes, hemispheres, and latitude and longitude.  Being familiar with the geography of the United States and the world helps to make sense of the migration patterns that we'll learn about later in the year.

After finishing up various assessments, reading has been all about comprehension strategies.  Knowing how we can think about what we read helps us to think more effectively. 

Calendar Math provides us with our daily "math vitamin" that really gets our heads working.  It also helps with learning how to "write math".  We've completed Chapter 1 on whole numbers and are moving into Chapter 2 which promises lots of practice with multiplication and division of multi-digit  numbers.  Make sure to have those times tables well under control.

Enjoy these beautiful first days of fall!

Parent Seminar Thoughts

Thank you to everyone for attending Parent Seminar this evening.  It was wonderful to put names and faces together, and I appreciate the support everyone offered. 

Our class is off to a great start, with the students coming together as a team of learners.  I've seen great evidence of persevering to get the job done and of students assuming responsibility for their own learning and for the their classroom.  They are a joy.

 

A New Website for Our Class

Here's a new website for our class.  This is the place that parents and students can look for news and information about what's happening in Room 104.  I've also created a page where I will be listing homework assignments daily.

I hope that we find this website easy to use and helpful as we dream, explore, and create throughout the year.

Mrs. Ellis