September 19th, 2013
Class activities for Thursday, September 19
Spelling: Today we practiced spelling words using common spelling patterns for the long /o/ sound: oa, o, o-consonant-e, ow.
You can find our yearly 500 word list here. Words will be selected from this list for each test. Students will not know which words will be tested. Find out more on our spelling page.
Cursive: Students receive cursive workbooks today. Cursive pp. 14-17 are due next Friday.
Reading: Students received Literature Circles notebooks to use for collecting thoughts, questions, connections, and responses while reading. Today, we practiced thinking of interesting, open-ended questions. Here are some questions that you can have your student practice using during their daily reading time:
- Have you ever…
- Why do you think…
- How would you feel…
- What if…
Sometimes while your student reads, you could ask them to jot down a few questions that they think of while reading, then discuss the questions with them after reading. Ask your student to show you which part of the book made them think of the question.
Writing: We continued to talk about narrowing a story topic to focus on just the best time in a story.
Students also continued to work on their personal narrative, due Monday, September 23 (new date). The personal narrative should be written about a memory or true event in each student’s life. Your student is using MrHowd.com Google Docs to write the story. They can work from home; have them show you what they’ve got so far.
Math: We learned about multiplication properties that make it easier to mulitply. Here are the ones we learned about:
- Commutative property: 5×2 = 2×5. The order of numbers can be switched, but the answer is still the same.
- Identity property: 5×1=5. The product of any number and one is itself.
- Zero property: 5×0=0. The product of any number and zero is zero.
Homework is to practice using these properties on Journal P1-3.
Science: We wrote notes in our minibooks about our last science experiment, and students completed a MiniQuiz.
The Energy Fair is on Friday, September 27 (more details here).
Social Studies: We reviewed important social studies ideas about the questions that economists ask themselves.
- Yellow magnets: 0
- Orange magnets: 0
- Red magnets: 0
- STAR Awards: 0
- Magnets moved this week (goal: TBD): 1
Notes:
- Decorated writing portfolios are due next week.
- The Energy Fair is Friday, September 27.
- Visit our new Links page! Keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
- Students have been asked to bring in, or purchase from me, three poly envelopes (three for $2.50) and at least one dry erase marker ($0.50).
- Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
- View grades, assignments, and attendance online.
Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.
