THE ACADEMIC UPDATE: ROOM 20 S NEWS FOR DECEMBER 2017

Transcription

1 It s hard to believe that we are beginning our second marking period, or trimester! Where does the time go? Here s an update as to what we ve been doing and where we are headed: We finished our second reading unit, Determining Theme through Character Change. Students have noticed that characters are complex and cannot be defined by one trait. They have seen how characters change as the plot changes; that characters have significant relationships with others that can bring about change and help us to theorize about a character s behavior. We have been working to identify the turning point in a story the event that causes a significant change or causes a character to act in a surprising way. We have identified common themes among stories and recognized how often stories have more than one theme. For example, in our interactive readaloud, Bully, we noticed that aside from the theme of bullying, as stated in the title, we identified the themes of friendship, loyalty, standing up for what s right, courage, and most importantly, forgiveness. Next we will begin a mini unit on text structures of informational text which will support our work in social studies, and then lead into our unit on Editorials. The students finished two personal narrative pieces in writing. One was a memoir that described a significant moment in their lives. Students noticed that memoirs can be a small event that had a great impact on the life of the author. They can distinguish between a memoir and an autobiography by noticing that memoirs can be reflective pieces, or narratives, about family traditions, personal experiences, and memorable moments. They learned that the most important characteristic of a memoir is that the subject of the memoir has had a great impact on the author s life, for whatever reason, and the event has stuck with the author. The other writing piece was an entry from their notebooks that they knew was the one to take all the way through the writing process. The students found writing inspiration from the Patricia Polacco mentor texts, their own life experiences, and memorable places. They generated a list of writing topics to combat writer s block so they never need to sit there thinking of something to write. The students are still developing their ability to organize their ideas into main idea paragraphs, with descriptive, showing details to support those main ideas. This will continue to be our focus as we begin this second trimester where we will be working on essay writing, specifically persuasive essays. We will also continue with grammar practice. A Words-Their-Way update: We are hoping to begin our first whole class lesson after we return in January. This approach to spelling is sound but complex, and we re (the teachers) working with Mrs. Aliberti, our literacy coach, to refine our practice of it. We just finished our first fraction unit What s that Portion? The students have identified fractions as equal parts of a whole or a set. They ve been able to compare and order fractions, find a fraction of a number, and fraction equivalents by patterning and through multiplication and division relationships. Students have been adding and subtracting fractions on the clock and by using patterning and equivalent fractions (lcm) to find the common denominator. The students have enjoyed playing the fraction games Roll Around the Clock and Fraction Tracks. Throughout this unit we have noticed how important it is to be fluent with multiplication and division facts. Now we are beginning our multiplication and division of fractions unit. Students will multiply whole numbers by fractions, multiply fractions by fractions, and divide whole numbers by fractions and fractions by whole numbers. This will be a new way of thinking for most parents, as we will not teach the reciprocal as you may have been taught. The students will most likely discover that method as the unit progresses. We are concluding our Colonial America unit by creating a Google Slides presentation on the region/colony in which your child would have most liked to live. From there, we will begin our second unit, the American Revolutionary War. Throughout our social studies reading we will be 1 P a g e

2 learning how to read nonfiction, or informational, text. This is called, content area reading, and to best understand the text, we will be learning strategies to help us identify the text structure. We will then be using these text structures, and the signal words that help us to determine the text structures, to learn to paraphrase, or put the text into our own words. This will help us to take notes in our own words. We will also determine the most important ideas of a text to then include in a summary. It s the most hectic time of the year it seems with all the winter holiday preparations and the great anticipation of some well-deserved time off! In the November newsletter I said that teacher holiday gifts are greatly appreciated but so not necessary, and the greatest gift for me would be for each child to leave our classroom for the winter recess with a new, or new to them book. The fact is, I will be assigning the students to read for 2 hours minimum over our much-deserved winter break, and what better way to kick off that assignment then with a new, or new to them, book? So in the spirit of giving, and of combatting boredom, or electronics, over vacation, we will be having our Fifth Annual Book Swap on Friday, December 22, Each child should bring a WRAPPED, 5 th grade appropriate, gender neutral, gently used favorite book from your bookshelves at home, or an inexpensive new paperback, to school by Wednesday, December 20, If for some reason you are unable to send a book in with your child for this event PLEASE let me know NO LATER THAN THIS Friday, December 15, 2017, so that I may get one for you and have it wrapped in time for our book swap. You can me at mdelasho@milforded.org or send me a note, or call the school at , and leave me a message. Thank you! Important Reminders Thursday, and Friday, 12/14-12/15 Holiday shop Monday, 12/18, DARE graduation, 6 pm at Parson s auditorium on West River St. Doors open at 5:30. Students sit with their families. Tuesday, 12/19, 6:30 pm PDS Grade 5 Holiday Band/Strings/Chorus concert students are EXPECTED to attend. Our Winter Holiday Recess will be from Monday, December 25, 2017, Monday, January 1, Classes resume Tuesday, January 2, Happy, Healthy holidays to you all! Please find 2 hours total for your child to read. We never take a vacation from reading! Hopefully the holidays will include new books, trips to the library, and grand book conversations! Monday, January 15, 2018, no school for MLK Day. Wednesday, January 24, 2018, is an early release day for students. Students will be dismissed at 1:25 for Teacher Professional Learning. A written note is needed when your child returns from an absence as per MBOE policy. Calling in the absence is only to prevent our service from calling you to find out where your child is. It does not excuse an absence. Tis the season cold and flu, that is! We would greatly appreciate donations of tissues, cleaning wipes, and hand sanitizer. Thank you! Please be mindful of the weather and having your child dress appropriately for outdoor recess. Layers are great! 2 P a g e

3 Please accept my most sincere wishes for a happy, healthy holiday season, and a restful, joyous vacation centered on your children and family. I am grateful for your children as they bring joy and novelty to my days. May you have all the best in 2018! Peace, ~ Meghan Cummings And without further ado Room 20 Snaps! Hurricane Wind Tunnel! Snaps of our Holiday Concert will be in the January Academic Update. Thanks to Jayton s mom and Nathan s mom for chaperoning our trip to the CT Science Center! 3 P a g e

4 Sound Lab 4 P a g e

5 Kazoo pipes! 5 P a g e

6 6 P a g e

7 7 P a g e

8 SWISH! Light Lab 8 P a g e

9 9 P a g e