This Week...

November 3- November 7, 2014

Reading:  “Animal homes” was the theme for the week!  Students read interesting nonfiction selections about animals and their habitats.  By using a topic-example-detail-detail organizer, students were able to pick out main ideas and find supporting facts.  They also learned how to solve analogies by analyzing the relationships between words.  Students did a close reading of a poem entitled, Writers.  Students used details in the stanzas to make inferences about the characters discussed in the poem. Reading Logs are due Monday, November 10.  (100 minutes)

Math:  We started unit 4, which focuses on multiplication and division!  A family letter was sent home on Monday.  We practiced drawing arrays to represent basic multiplication problems.  We also solved multiplication number stories using a graphic organizer.  Then, students used counters to model simple division problems.  We also discussed the formal way to write remainders in number models.

Science:  Food Chains were a main topic of discussion this week.  Students learned that energy is passed from one organism to another.  Producers, or plants, provide food to the various consumers in our world.  At the end of the week, students were excited to dissect owl pellets and discover what owls eat!  They matched up their discoveries with a bone matching diagram.  Students learned that most owls eat voles and birds, which helped them determine the owls’ habitats.  The habitats unit test will be next Thursday, November 13.  A review guide will be going home on Monday.  In the LMC, students learned about two different note-taking strategies: boxes & bullets and sketch & label.  They will use these strategies when they begin their biome research projects next week!

Writing:  Students edited their personal narratives with a checklist.  They checked for proper spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.  They also revised their pieces to ensure that strong verbs and showing details were included.  In grammar, students learned how to write possessive nouns.  November writing words went home this week.  Students reviewed their meanings and use in various contexts.

Spelling/Cursive:  Students took their week 10 spelling test.  We continued to work in our cursive packets.

Miscellaneous:  In honor of the upcoming Veteran’s Day, students wrote thoughtful letters to our nation’s veterans.  These letters will be delivered to a local VA hospital in time for the holiday.  Our class did a wonderful job of filling these veterans’ “buckets” and showing that they matter!  As the weather gets colder, please make sure your child brings warm outerwear for recess…thank you!  Please let me know if you have any questions…have a fabulous weekend!