25% There

It's hard to believe that we've completed more than 25% of the school year.  Our Calendar Math, however, shows that it's true.

We've been busy this past week starting in on fractions:  adding and subtracting, making equivalencies, and generally reviewing all that we know about fractions.  This coming week brings looking at division equations as fractions.  We are also working with mixed numbers.

In science, we are continuing with our study of light and color.  Experiments last week had us considering refraction and the various properties of objects in terms of light (i.e. translucent, transparent, opaque).  This week, we will work in CLIC to further explore light.  Please send your student in with a shoe box for this project (any extras are also appreciated).

I am looking forward to reading student blogs about Native Americans, their environments, and their cultures.  Knowledge of how Native Americans lived translates into deeper understanding of the colonization of the Americas.  Having students use technology in the classroom and in their learning supports the Common Core standards. 

In reading, we continue with group book studies.  Please encourage reading every day by your student.  The Scholastic Book Fair now in the school library offers a great selection of books for students along with the autonomy of making their own selections.  Ask students about their book choices, whether from the book fair, from the library, or from their own shelves.  This is a great way to get conversations going about what they're reading as well as about what you might be reading.