Celebrating Mrs. Kelly Day!

On Wednesday, our class said goodbye to Mrs. Kelly!  They showed great character by making thoughtful cards and wishing her good luck in her new home!  We knew that Mrs. Kelly loves animals, so we worked together to make her a panda!

This Week...

January 24- January 27, 2017

Reading:  In the beginning of the week, we focused on how dialogue is used in fiction stories.  We learned that characters’ words can show us a lot about their personalities.  Making text-to-text connections was another main topic this week.  We read two different mysteries by the same author and compared them using the key story elements.  We had a great discussion about book series and how you can make connections between the same characters.  When you make these connections, they deepen your understanding of the story. Reading Logs are due Monday, January 30.  (100 minutes)

Math:  Students practiced drawing and manipulating various angles with straws!  They learned that there are 360 degrees in a full turn.   Students created an angle measuring tool to help determine the size of angles.  Today, students took a quiz on the first half of the unit.  Next week, we will focus on various polygons and three-dimensional figures.  Just a reminder, please remind your child to be practicing his/her basic facts…thank you!

Social Studies:  Branches of government was our main focus in social studies this week!  We discussed how each branch of the government has a specific job, which helps the power stay balanced in our country and our state.  Students learned that the legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws.

Writing:  We discussed cause and effect relationships while reading My Name is Maria Isabel.  Students also completed revision assignments for a character trait prompt.  They looked back in the text to find important showing details to better describe a particular moment.  In grammar, students reviewed key topics from unit 3.  Just a reminder, the January writing words test will be on Tuesday, January 31.

Spelling:  Students took their unit 3 review test.  We will resume regular spelling homework next week.

Miscellaneous:  Our class will be visiting the book fair on Thursday, February 2!  Flyers will be going home today along with a wish list.  Please have your child fill out the wish list and bring it back to school on Thursday…thank you!  I hope you have a great weekend and please let me know if you have any questions!

Spirit Day!

Students enjoyed dressing up as their favorite characters today!

This Week...

January 17- January 20, 2017

Reading:  Determining the moral of a story was a main focus this week.  We learned that a moral is a lesson that the author is trying to portray through the story’s main elements.  We read various fables and figured out how the elements help form the moral.  Students did an excellent job making inferences to determine the moral of the story.  In the fable, The Camel Dances, students came up with some of the following themes: follow your heart, don’t give up on your dreams, and believe in yourself.  At the end of the week, students learned the importance of different text connections.  Some of these connections include text-to-self, text-to-self, and text-to-world.  When readers make connections, they can gain a deeper understanding of the text.  Students also learned the difference between the author’s tone and the reader’s mood.    Reading Logs are due Tuesday, January 24.  (100 minutes)

Math:  We began unit 6!  A family letter went home this week outlining the major concepts.  Rays, lines, and line segments were a main focus.  Students practiced labeling them, as well as finding examples in the real world.  Intersecting lines and parallel line segments were also discovered.  Students practiced drawing and manipulating various angles with straws!  They learned that a square corner is also called a right angle.

Social Studies:  Students created Lincoln collages based on significant events in his life.  We had a great discussion about the impact Lincoln had on our country and our state.  Students also learned how Illinois became a state.  We discussed how Native Americans and Europeans played a role in the history of Illinois.

Writing:  We discussed the importance of sequencing details in our writing.  If we do not put key events in order, the reader can become confused.  Students utilized a verb continuum, which started with slow moving verbs and ended with quick moving verbs.  Students incorporated these verbs when writing about Maria Isabel.  In grammar, students combined sentences.

Spelling:  Today, we had our week 17 test.  Next week will be a review week for spelling.

Miscellaneous:  Mrs. Wasik, our advanced learning facilitator, came to our classroom to teach us about “Growth Mindset”!  Students learned how to identify road blocks in their learning and the importance of growing from our mistakes.  Just a reminder, there is no school on Monday.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Have a great weekend!

Math Games!

This week, we learned how to play "Decimal Top-It".  It helped us practice reading and comparing decimals.  

This Week...

January 9- January 13, 2017

Reading:  Students read a Chinese folktale, Gu Dong is Coming, which was about two different characters.  They analyzed the characters’ actions, words, feelings, and thoughts to determine appropriate character traits.  We also talked about the difference between literal and figurative language.  Students discovered that authors use literal language when they mean exactly what they write on the page.  Figurative language, on the other hand, is when the words on the page do not mean exactly what they say.  We discussed examples of similes, metaphors, and idioms.  We also read a short fiction piece entitled “The Claw”.  Students were able to identify examples of personification, where the author gives human like qualities to something that is not human.     Reading Logs are due Tuesday, January 17.  (100 minutes)

Math:  We spent the week reviewing major concepts from unit 5.  Students practiced reading aloud large numbers and decimals.  They also worked on comparing numbers and putting them in correct number sequences.  Place value was also reviewed up to the millions and down to the thousandths place.  Students took their unit 5 test on Friday.  The test consisted of a written portion, as well as an oral test where students read numbers.  Next week, we will begin unit 6!

Social Studies:  At the beginning of the week, students had the opportunity to study the climate of certain cities across the state: Springfield, Rockford, and Cairo.  After graphing the average monthly temperatures for each city, students discovered that the colder cities are in the northern part of the state, while the warmer cities are in southern Illinois.  Students also read about the Illini Native Americans.  They created note taking webs that focused on their homes, jobs, resources, and traditions.

Writing:  Students learned more about Maria Isabel as we read a couple more chapters in our books.  Students worked on writing about a moment when Maria Isabel demonstrated a particular character trait.  In grammar, students identified the future tense of various verbs and applied quotation marks.

Spelling:  Today, we had our week 16 test.

Miscellaneous:  Mrs. Frantz, our technology facilitator, came to our classroom to teach us about the important topic of Digital Citizenship!  Students learned that we leave digital footprints when we go online.  We brainstormed ways to making positive marks on the internet.  Just a reminder, January book orders are due February 3.  Also, there will be no school on Monday.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Enjoy the 3-day weekend!

This Week...

January 3- January 6, 2017

Reading:  At the beginning of the week, we read various fables.  We analyzed the characters’ actions to determine appropriate character traits.  We also talked about how authors use sensory details to evoke a certain mood from the reader.  We practiced identifying positive and negative moods conveyed by the author.  Another major focus was developing theories for mystery stories.  We talked about the importance of citing text evidence and our background knowledge to support our theories.  Students were very engaged and interested in our main mystery about the Mary Celeste, a mysterious ship from the 1800s whose crew went missing.  Reading Logs are due Monday, January 9.  (300 minutes)

Math:  We explored decimals and fractions using base-10 blocks.  By using a flat, students learned how to shade in a certain number of blocks to represent a decimal.  During this investigation, we discussed 3 new place values: tenths, hundredths, and thousandths.  Our unit 5 test will be on Friday, January 13.  A review guide will be going home at the beginning of next week.

Social Studies:  Students were very excited to start our next social studies unit: Illinois!  We started off discussing the land of Illinois, including bordering rivers and states.  State symbols were also discussed.

Writing:  Students worked on a New Year’s Resolution writing project!  They developed various resolutions based on four aspects of their lives: home, school, personal, and character.  Students received their January writing words list.  In WEX, students worked on using sensory details to describe moments from My Name is Maria Isabel.  In grammar, students identified the past tense of various verbs and applied commas to sentences that included a series of things.

Spelling:  Today, we had our week 15 test.

Miscellaneous:  Happy New Year and welcome back!  I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing break with family and friends.  Just a reminder, January book orders went home this week…they are due February 3.  Students were also introduced to our new states and capitals region: the Northeast!  The Northeast test will be at the beginning of February.  Please let me know if you have any questions…have a great weekend!