A Week In Review

Language Arts:

We continue on our quest to expand our thinking process while we read. This week I turned the tables on the kids and had them ask the questions. We talked about thinking and how a lot of comprehension questions depend on inference and background knowledge. We talked a lot about thinking about things that aren't obviously stated and how answer questions that seek hidden information. We will keep working on this.

Writing:
We wrote a poem about the winter, edited and typed it in the computer lab. We also started our own in class dinosaur research for a dinosaur guessing project. Next week we will use the dinosaur research the kids do at home for a different writing project. We will also be recopying a dinosaur poem and working on a project if the dinosaurs came back.
Next week we will be starting a three part writing project. The kids will be creating a book where they write one story about a funny memory from when they were a baby, one story about themselves now, and a story about what they think they will be like when they grow up. We will finish just in time for Open House! So I am sure you will love looking at them.

Science:
We are going to get more into the science side of fossils next week. We will be tying it into art and writing. If you have fossils at home please feel free to send pictures of them in with your child or if you can send the fossil in.

Please remember that next Thursday is Multicultural day. Your child can dress from a country that you have visited or one they have clothing from. I am going to wear a sweatshirt I got in Italy and a t-shirt I brought back from Africa.

Four Day Weeks Seem Longer then Five Day Weeks!

I can't believe this week is over. Four day weeks (especially two in a row) are really hard. You still have to get all the standards in but in a shorter period of time! Yikes!


I hope the e-mail list is working. Please remember to check the blog for the weekly calendar. That won't get e-mailed to you.

Lots of kids got homework alerts this week for not turning in the fluency page (not the log... I was laxed on that as I messed up a lot of people). There are questions that have to be answered on the back of the page and turned in on Friday. I know this reading is a lot harder but it is at a 2.5 level which is where all of your kids should be at this point of the year. I put a new log in your folder. Please use red for your first read and blue for your second. You should have three logs recorded by the end of February.

There is NO READING LOG, MATH LOG, OR POEM again next week. We are going ot be doing a time line instead. Please make sure your child does their personal best on this. I have shown my time line and given them examples. The time line is due next Friday. I expect colored pictures that have lots of detail (no ants in the snow, people that are all one color, or one color colored in the background to fill up the page.

If you need the class list for Valentine's please let me know. Valentines are due on February 13th. You must have one for everyone in the class if you are going to do them. Please let me know ahead of time if your child is not planning on participating in Valentine's Day.