This Week...

October 17- October 20, 2017

Reading:  We were so excited to start our nonfiction unit!  Students learned how nonfiction books can be categorized into biographies, literary nonfiction books, and reference nonfiction texts.  Nonfiction text features were a key focus this week.  Students learned how to identify, locate, and utilize these features in a variety of nonfiction books.  They also discussed the purpose of each feature and how it helps the reader comprehend the text.  Reading Logs are due Monday, October 23.  (100 minutes)

Math:  We reviewed unit 3 by focusing on multi-digit addition problems.  On Wednesday, students took their unit 3 test.  At the end of the week, students began unit 4.  Unit 4 focuses on multi-digit subtraction.  A family letter outlining the key topics will be going home next week.

Science:  We learned that weather takes place in the troposphere, which is an area spanning 11 miles from the surface of the earth into the atmosphere.  At the end of the week, students learned about the information a weather forecast provides.  They chose an activity and researched a place that would have ideal weather conditions.

Writing:  We continued working on the skill of showing!  Students wrote about a time when they witnessed another person’s emotions.  They practiced writing details to show how that person was feeling instead of just telling us the emotion.  Describing a setting was another focus.  Students had a chance to write about a time when they were around water and they incorporated sensory details to show us what they experienced.

Word Study:  Students focused on contractions!  They identified the two words that could be put together and learned where to place the apostrophe.  Students played “Crazy Eights” to practice identifying similar contractions.  We also completed our second week of buddy spelling!  Students practiced their high frequency words using our various routines.  They built words using tiles and made connections.

Miscellaneous:  Thank you to everyone for their support in the Just Jump Challenge!  We spent the week discussing bullying to honor October being Bully Prevention Month!  Students learned about “Stop, Walk, Talk” and what to do if he/she is a bystander.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions.  Have a wonderful weekend!