This was truly a very nice start to the school year. We have a positive community with eager and cooperative learners. I am very pleased with the progress we have made this week. We eased in to each core subject with creative and enjoyable activities.
Reading: We have already read 3 books, including our first chapter book read aloud, The Phantom Tollbooth. Students have their own book tubs and each student has picked out a few books. Our discussions have focused on responding to books, identifying book genres, and understanding the 5th grade Book Share expectations.
Writing: Students have started their writing journals with a Personality List which also serves as a topic list. We are incorporating these ideas into a I AM poem, art, and technology project.
Math: Mathmagicians have enjoyed 3 games which students can use throughout the year during extra math time. We are building multiple towers to start our investigation into place value and math language. These towers are also designed to decorate our room a bit too!
Science: Our beginning science activities focused on making observations and descriptions. After looking at examples of famous scientist journals, we practiced science descriptions ourselves. We were so good at it, we decided to practice in the field today at Stewart Park. I will post some examples of descriptions and pictures shortly.
Social Studies: Today we introduced the famous Where in the World Project. This project focuses on geography and integrates art, writing, and reading heavily. Students will be creating their own island focused on a theme. As we travel around our community in September, geographers will be inspired to include important aspects of community into their island. Please read the Where in the World packet in the Friday Folder this weekend.
Friday Folder: The folder this week has a lot of information for your weekend reading! Please let me know if you have any questions. This blog post is copied as the newsletter this week. Please let me know either by email or writing a note in the Friday Folder if you would like me to continue to put a paper copy in the Friday Folder. Otherwise, I will rely on blog posts and emails and meeting in person to share ideas and questions about our classwork. Concerning the weekly behavior chart: I will fill this out each week (/ means satisfactory, -- needs improvement). Each student and I will alternate each week making comments about their progress and school experience. I do these digitally so I can easily keep a record of each week’s progress.
I am looking forward to a wonderful year! Enjoy your weekend.
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