Week of October 24th, 2016

This Week is Conference Week!!! 

Monday and Tuesday are regular days! 

Wednesday and Thursday are HALF DAYS! 

(You will receive your conference reminder this week)

This week in class... 

Math - Continuing our study of multiplication strategies. 

Reading - We will read our last 2 stories in our Patricia Polacco author study. 

Writing - Continue informative writing 

Science - We will be doing more pumpkins science! Do pumpkins sink or float? How tall are our pumpkins? How wide? 

***There will be NO SPELLING this week. We will continue next week! 

Week of October 17th, 2016

This week in class... 

Math - We are beginning chapter 3 of GoMath! We will be discovering multiplication!  

Reading - we will continue our exploration of Patricia Polacco books! We are practicing deciding on what themes are present in her books. 

Writing - We will be diving into informative writing, using Step Up to Writing. 

Spelling - You child received his/her spelling homework over the weekend to get started learning their words. Our test will be THURSDAY! 

Science - We are continuing pumpkin science. We will ask questions about our pumpkin and learn about the life cycle. 

THERE IS NO SCHOOL THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21ST 

Box Tops... 
We are half way to our goal of 500! When we reach our goal, our class will earn a popcorn party. Please continue to bring on Box Tops! Thanks! 

Week of October 10th, 2016

This Week in Class... 

Math - Due to low test scores on time and elapsed time, we will take the week to review and retake our test on Friday. Expect math homework every night this week. 

Reading - We will continue our Patricia Polacco author study. We will begin the week with the story Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare. 

Writing - We will begin friendly letter writing! We will be pen pals with my sister's 3rd grade class in Utah! 

Science - I hope to begin pumpkin science this Thursday! I've had 5 families decide to donate pumpkins! WOW! :) 

We will have a guest speaker this Wednesday! We will do fun activities with leaves outside!!! 

***Please make sure to send ALL MATH TESTS back to school signed. I keep them for data and portfolios. If you have any still at home, send them back to school. Thanks! 

Week of October 3rd, 2016

This week in class... 

Math - we are practicing telling time to the minute and elapsed time. We will have our test on time this Friday! 

Reading - We are presenting our paper bag projects. Also, we will begin our next author atudy on Patricia Polacco!!! 

Writing - We are continuing sentence mastery and will begin writing paragraphs. 

Social Studies - We are learning about the continents and oceans! 

Please continue to send in box tops for education! 

Please send in leaves! Our guest speaker will come in Next week! 

Week of September 26th, 2016

This Week in Class... 

Math - We are beginning Chapter 10 this week. We will be learning and practicing telling time. I encourage families to continue working with their children at home with telling time on analog clocks. 

Reading - This week we will work on our final project for our Kevin Henkes author study! We will be doing a Paper Bag Project on the character of Lilly. We will create the bags at school, and next weekend your child will find 10 items at home that represent Lilly to fill their bag. Your child will bring home a rubric for the project this week! 

Writing - We are continuing to master sentence writing. We will also learn the different types of sentences: Statement, Command, Question, and Exclamation. 

Spelling - Homework is sent home on Mondays. Please ensure your child completes 3 different activities throughout the week. Spelling homework is due Friday, on test day! 

Science - This week we will begin looking at different types of clouds. If weather is calm, we will adopt a tree on the playground to watch throughout the year. 

Social Emotional Learning - This year we are using a social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum called "Second Step". We are currently learning and practicing how to "Focus our attention" and "Listen". I encourage families to work with their children at home on listening to one another with eyes on the speaker, ears listening, and asking questions in response. These are HUGE skills for young people and are essential for success in life! :) 

Box Tops: 
Please continue to send in Box Tops for Education! I've had three students bring them in so far! Classes at Ursa Major are working towards collecting 500 Box Tops to earn a popcorn party! :) 

Leaves: 
I've had some students bring in different kinds of leaves, and I myself have been on the trails collecting leaves. Please continue to bring in different kinds of leaves. We will have a guest speaker in mid-October who will do fun activities with us using the leaves. Thanks! 

Picture Day This Week!!!
***Wednesday the 28th!!! I sent home orders forms on Friday, or you can order pictures online! :) 

Open House: 
When - This Friday, September 30th, 2016
Time - 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.
What - Come in to your child's classroom and see how they spend their time in their learning environment! 

Week of September 19th, 2016

This week in class... 

Math - On Tuesday, we will be taking our first end of chapter test on Chapter One. We will begin Chapter Ten on Wednesday. 

Reading - We will be finishing our Kevin Henkes author study with our last story Chrysanthemum.

Writing - This week we will work on mastering sentence writing. 

Spelling - This will be our second week with spelling. Your child has been placed into 1 of 3 spelling groups based on their spelling inventory from the first week of school. In class, we sort the spelling words based on patterns each day. At home, your child is responsible for doing three activities during the week to practice spelling their words. Homework is due Friday for participation points. Spelling tests are each Friday. 

Science - We will begin our study of weather and clouds. We will learn about temperature. 

Homework
Reminder: Reading Logs are due every Monday. Math homework from the previous night is due the following day. 

Box Tops
Please send in Box Tops for Education. You can find them on many food boxes that you might have in your home. The more Box Tops we bring in, the the closer our class will get to earning a reward. 

Week of September 5th, 2016

This week in class... 

Math - We will continue practicing strategies for adding. Our first math quiz will be Friday! The quiz will cover rounding, estimating and strategies for adding. 

Reading - We are continuing our author study of Kevin Henkes. We are reading the story Lilly's Big Day this week. 

Writing - We are learning about verbs and adverbs this week. 

Social Studies - We will continue to learn about features on maps and globes and continue a project. 

Homework...

Your child is bringing home a new reading log today. Your child should be reading 20-30 minutes each night and filling out his/her reading log. Reading logs are due Monday. 

Reminder: If students do not complete math work in class it goes home for homework. Please send the homework back completed the next day. Sometimes the assignment will be given participation points. IF the assignment is more than 1 day late, your child will not receive the points. 

Spelling homework will start next week! Stay tuned! 

Snack... 
Please send healthy snacks with your child. Fruits, veggies, and grains are appropriate. On Tuesdays and Thursdays only the school receives a veggie or fruit snack for every child. I do not provide snack for students that did not bring one. If families would like to donate packaged snacks such a fruits snacks or packaged gold fish, that would be awesome! 

Scholastic News... 
I still have not heard from 7 families about the Scholastic News program for our class. Please return the purple form and fee as soon as possible. If the fee is an issue, some families have paid for extra magazines, so please let me know if that would be helpful. Thanks!