Please keep in mind that Tuesday and Thursday, March 10th and 12th, are 12:45pm dismissal days. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress at conferences.
Here's what we've been working on in the classroom:
Reading : We started our nonfiction reading unit last week. We went over the differences between fiction and nonfiction and then started learning about ways to learn facts from nonfiction texts. The students know that they can often learn facts in nonfiction books without even reading any words, but by taking a careful look at the pictures. So far, they've done a great job gleaning useful information from the pictures in nonfiction texts. This week, we'll move on to other ways that you can learn facts from nonfiction texts.
A quick note about the nonfiction books you may see coming home : Many of the nonfiction books that the students are self-selecting come unleveled nonfiction bins. Therefore, if your child chooses to bring home a nonfiction book to read for his/her reading homework, it may not necessarily be at his/her level. If that happens, please read the book with your child and talk about the information he/she is learning.
Writing : Last week, we used our knowledge of opinion writing for many different uses. The students wrote an opinion piece about why they think the CHS custodians are the best (to thank them for all the hard work they've been doing clearing the snow and ice). They also continued typing up their opinion pieces about which math games they think will help them learn their math facts the best. It's been a fun unit!
Math : Math was a mixture of a bunch of different things last week. From working on two-digit number stories, to explorations with shapes, to learning about the 'near-doubles facts' strategy.
Science : We kicked off our new science unit about balance and motion last week by talking about balance. We'll get a little more in depth with balance this week.
Sorry, no pictures last week. Have a great week!