Homework Changes
Here is the MONTHLY HOMEWORK CALENDAR.
Since your child has this week to still complete the Connect 4 from last week, you can choose to do one or the other, or have your child do both. I am letting you decide based on your homework routine. No matter which you choose, please send in any completed Connect 4 work on Friday.
This month's STEM Challenge is going to be tied to our next Fusion unit: Communities. We begin our unit by reading, studying, and comparing various Gingerbread Man stories. Your child will be challenged to create a gingerbread house. Later in our unit, we will be constructing houses and other buildings at school to create a mini community.
Here is the DECEMBER MONTHLY STEM CHALLENGE.
Don't forget that your child is still responsible for reading 20 minutes every night, practicing the weekly fluency sheet, and learning the assigned level of math facts. All of these things can be found on our HOMEWORK PAGE.
Brain Boost and Agenda
brain_boost_agenda_week_12-2-13.pdf |
Dates to Remember
12/6: Wetlands Weather Walk (pm). Make sure your child is prepared for the weather. You may want to send your child in layers, with winter boots if there is snow, with extra socks just in case, etc. We would like to try to go rain or shine. You are more than welcome to join us, so please email me if you would like to attend.
12/16: Reading Common Assessment
12/17: Math Common Assessment
12/20: Winter Wonderland Celebrations. We will send you information soon about the festivities and the needs of the party. Stay tuned!
12/21-1/5: Winter Break - No school!
1/10: End of 2nd Quarter
1/17: Report cards are sent home (paper versions)
1/20: MLK Day - No school!
1/29: Save the date! STEM NIGHT 5:30-7:30 pm at school.
1/31: No School
Classroom Topics for December
I differentiate for each child's needs and have math divided into 3 main things. We start with CGI story problems where the students are given a problem to work on independently for 5 minutes, solving it 3 or more ways. Then they put their heads together and their bottoms up to share out with their group. This allows them to check their answers, share their strategies, help others, or receive help. Then 6 students are chosen randomly to put up 1 strategy on the board to explain to the class how they completed the problem. Our problems this week will be addition with/without regrouping and subtraction without regrouping.
The second thing we do is come together on the rug for our Investigations Math. We are working on number strings (adding up single digit numbers). We are moving into adding up to 4 2-digit numbers and using our regrouping strategies. This is mostly teacher led with some practice by the students.
The last thing we do is our math workshop called "Math is a GIFT". The students rotate through learning stations playing math games, practicing math facts, using our technology to practice, and working at the table with me. Each rotation is about 20 minutes. The children are divided into fluid groups (they change often) based on need. This week, I have a group working on single digit strings still, a group moving into adding up to 4 2-digit problems, a group adding up to 4 2-digit problems, and another working on the same skill in story problem format. As the students progress, I either change their group or change the level of the work in the group.
READING
Besides working on various skills within reading groups using chapter books, your child works on independent reading, recording their reading, word work activities, reading with technology, and writing. Each child has different skills they are working on and have a variety of activities to practice those skills.