November 28- December 2

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! We are back with a short week this week for students. There will be no school on Thursday or Friday due to parent-teacher conferences. I am looking forward to meeting with all of you about your child's progress!

Last week in science, the students brainstormed ideas about how mesas and buttes are formed. They got to design a model to show the process and share it with the class!

In writing, we are moving on to the persuasive essay unit. Students are learning to use boxes (thesis statements) and bullets (reasons) to persuade readers. We are currently discussing what persuasive essays look like and brainstorming ideas for topics.

In math, we are focusing on long division. The students are using the place value sections, expanded notation, and digit by digit methods to divide large numbers. We are asking students to explain how to divide using place value language and strategies, not just the classic method of divide, multiply, subtract, and bring down. Videos for each strategy will be posted this week.

In reading, the students are working on growing ideas about characters. We are focusing on what they do, say, and think in order to understand them on a deeper level. Students are working on citing page numbers and writing reflections in their reader's notebooks.

November 14-18

We had a great time at the Riversedge Nature Center last week. The kids got to see all kinds of landforms created by glaciers such as kames, eskers, moraines, and kettles. They also got to use tools to test soil, wind speed, and temperature.

This week we have a math test on Tuesday on multiplication (any method), estimation, and word problems. The students are coming home with a study guide tonight which they started in class. We will begin our division unit on Wednesday.

In reading, we will continue to work on summarizing using story elements and choosing good fit books.

In writing, the students are working through the writing process for a narrative piece on their own. They are taking what they have learned in class throughout the unit and applying it to their student lead piece. Final published pieces will be due on Thursday. The next unit will be on persuasive writing.

We are starting science this week. The unit is on the changing earth and includes erosion, deposition, landforms, earthquakes, volcanoes, and fossils. This week the students will work in groups to create a mesa or butte using sand, clay, and other supplies from the classroom.

In morning meeting, we are discussing ways to choose partners kindly and to include others in class discussions and group work.

Have a great week!

November 7-11

Our field trip to the Riversedge Nature Center was canceled at the last minute last week due to the terrible weather. We were able to reschedule the trip for this Thursday, November 10. As of now, the weather looks good! Remember to send a bag lunch and have your child wear appropriate clothing for a morning outside.

The students are finishing up their book clubs in reading this week. They are having some great discussions about symbolism and point of view. We celebrated the completion of the narrative unit in writing last week. The students will take this week to write one more complete piece on their own using what they have learned from the unit. 

In math, we are continuing to practice two digit by two digit multiplication as well as one digit by four digit multiplication. We will also focus on multi-step word problems this week. The chapter 2 test is tentatively scheduled for Monday, November 14. The kids will not need to use all of the multiplication methods on the test, they will only need to use the method that works best for them. 

In social studies, we are finishing up chapter 3 on the first people in Wisconsin. The test is tomorrow (Tuesday). It is an open book/open note test.  After this unit, we will be moving on to science!

Please remember to turn in your conference sign up forms that went home in the Thursday folder last week.