This Week...

September 9- September 13, 2013

Reading: In reading, students focused on nonfiction pieces of text.  Many of the selections came from the magazine, Time for Kids.  Students practiced the reading strategy of finding main ideas and details.  “Home Sweet Harlem” and “Who’s Habitat is it” were pieces of text that followed the weekly theme of building communities.  We used a web to help us visualize how the details of a nonfiction piece support the author’s main idea.  Reading Logs are due Monday, September 16.  (100 minutes)

Math: Exact change and estimation were discussed using money.  Students practiced representing change with pictures and analyzing number patterns with frames and arrows problems.  They also reviewed other major concepts from unit 1.  A review guide went home on Wednesday.  Our unit 1 math test was today and we will be starting unit 2 next week!

Social Studies: Students learned how to use a physical map to determine various landforms across the country.  They also learned how to use map scales to find accurate distances from one place to another.  On Thursday, we discussed the country project, which students will create at home.  A list of guidelines and directions were sent home, as well as a piece of white construction paper.  These country projects will be due on Friday, September 20.  I am looking forward to seeing the students’ creative ideas!

Writing: We started our writing program: The Writer’s Express (WEX)!  Students enjoyed learning about the writer’s mindset, the rules for writing, and how to “show” readers with their words.   We also discussed how to share our work and provide positive feedback to classmates.  In grammar, we worked on identifying the subject in a sentence.

Cursive/Spelling:  In cursive this week, students practiced the letters “c, d, q, and g”.  We took our week 3 spelling test.

Miscellaneous:  We had another great week!  Students were very excited to name our class hermit crabs: Scooter and Hermit!  The crabs will help us understand more about habitats in our upcoming science unit.  Just a reminder, book orders are due on September 27.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and please let me know if you have any questions!