March 26-30

"Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn."

We had a great start to our week! We will not have a regular literacy block due to the state testing. Instead, we read How to Lift a Lion and talked about simple machines. Students are very excited about this topic. They began reading the chapter book Gadget War with their PEA Reading Buddies today as well. 

Brain Gym was advantageous this morning. Students practiced starfish, finger and skull tapping, planks, and Sun Salutations. They finished with Cosmic Kids Bunny Bounce and Green Frog. 

We will not have homework this week due to the SAS testing. However, we will begin Unit 7 in math today. All assignments will be done during class time. Our learning objectives involve estimating and measuring liquid volumes, identifying equal shares and equivalent fractions, solving number stories involving time, mass, volume and length, and partitioning fraction strips to compare and name fractions. 

I'm hopeful that students will be well rested for the testing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Healthy snacks and water bottles would also be helpful for students. 

Have a wonderful week! :)

March 19-23

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

We had a wonderful morning together. Students were introduced to the new vocabulary and spelling patterns for Lesson 15. Our new Anchor Text is titled Ramona Quimby: The Extra-Good Sunday. It is a humorous fiction selection from Ramona Quimby, Age 8, one of my favorite books from when I was a little girl. 

Ms. Karen joined us for Brain Gym this morning. We did Sun Salutations, plank and starfish. Students worked to engage both their brains and body. I love watching my students participate in activities that demand coordination and strength. 

Students will have a spelling assignment each night this week for homework. The test will be given on Friday, March 23rd. 

We will finish Unit 6 in math this week. Students will have a Home Link on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening. They will have a Study Guide to work on Thursday night. The test will be given on Friday. Please look for the Unit 7 Family Letter in your child's folder later this week. 

Students are excited to begin our Simple Machine Unit this week. We will be studying screws, pulleys, inclined planes, levers, wedges and wheels and axles. 

Have a wonderful week! :)

March 12-16

"March, when days are getting long, Let thy growing hours be strong to set right some wintry wrong."

We had a lovely Monday morning. We worked on several grammar activities reviewing prefixes, base words and their meanings. We also worked on subject and predicate. Students enjoyed creating subject and predicate cards and sharing them with their classmates. Students finished comprehension answers for Aero and Officer Mike. We all enjoyed reading this informational text about a police officer's relationship with his K9. 

Ms. Karen came for Brain Gym after snack. Students practiced Sun Salutations, starfish, plank and several other brain/body engaging exercises. They also used shamrocks to activate learning in both parts of the brain. 

Students will have one or two spelling activities due by Wednesday (depending on whether or not they completed one on last week's snow day). The test will be given on the 14th. We won't take our next pretest until Monday morning. Our next list focuses on more "bossy r" words. 

Our math lessons this week involve using multiplication/division diagrams to solve number stories, playing Multiplication Top-It and applying strategies to multiply larger factors, and learning about PEMDAS while using parentheses in number sentences. We will have math homework on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. 

No school tomorrow for teacher workshops! Enjoy the snow! :)

Scholastic book orders are due on 3/15. Our classroom code is HB244. 

Have a wonderful week! :)

March 5-9

"The stormy March has come at last, With winds and clouds and changing skies; I hear the rushing of the blast that through the snowy valley flies."

We had a fabulous start to our week. Students had a dress rehearsal with Mrs. Noseworthy to practice for their concert tonight. I am so excited to watch them perform and I look forward to seeing parents too! After their rehearsal, students participated in a fun Dr. Seuss activity. Students compared and contrasted the book Horton Hears a Who with the movie of the same title. They loved it. 

No spelling or math homework tonight due to the concert. However, students will have a spelling pretest tomorrow morning. Students will have four spelling assignments due by Wednesday, March 14th. Their test will be given that day.

We will continue with Unit 6 in math this week. Students will self assess automaticity with multiplication fact checks. They will also construct quadrilaterals and then measure and plot distances to the nearest half inch. Finally they will use multiplication/division diagrams to make sense of and solve number stories. Home Links will be given for homework on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. 

Scholastic book orders are due on March 15th. Our classroom code is HB244. 

Have a lovely week! :)