February 10

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mid-Winter Break! We spent the weekend in Jackson for MAHA District hockey playoffs! Clayton’s team ended up losing in the semi-final game so we were able to make it home just in time for the Super Bowl!

This week in reading students are continuing to read non fiction and historical fiction accounts of their American Revolution focus topic. Students have learned that it is important to pay attention to the details that make history come alive and make it memorable. We learned that you read narrative non-fiction (written as a story) differently than your read expository non-fiction. Good readers are aware of when the text changes and adjust their reading and note taking styles accordingly.

In Writing Workshop we learned how to add details to our drafts to make what we had already written come alive and be memorable. We also practiced teaching about our focus topic. We learned that teaching about your topic to a real audience helps prepare you to write about your topic, being able to anticipate and answer questions your reader may have. Next week we will be adding in a first person story from our focus topic.

The week in Math we have been working on finding equivalent fractions. Students began by using fraction bars and number lines to find equivalent fractions and then learned how to use multiplication and division to find and generate equivalent fractions. (Wow! Knowing those basic multiplication and Division facts really pays off here!)

This wee we began our Social Studies Units for the year. We have started with a Black History Month study. Students began by learning about slavery through read aloud books and videos, we discussed abolitionists, the underground railroad, Harriet Tubman and many others. We will be moving on to The Civil Rights movement next week.

Growth Mindset: Last week we completed a growth mindset activity with Mrs. Smits. Students had to create a structure to protect something. They did not know what the object was to start. They later learned it was a potato chip, and Mrs. Smits dropped a book on their structure. They then had time to rebuild and retry. This week we tried another challenging activity. I showed the students a sample of a paper structure that I had created. They were then tasked with recreating it on their own only using a notecard and scissors. They could look at the structure, but not touch it. We had many failures that encouragd us to not give up and to try a new approach. It was interesting to see all the different ways students tackled the problem and their levels of perserverance.

Important Dates

Friday, February 10 – Chaperone lottery and the notes will come home

Friday, February 17 – Holmes Parents Club Bingo Night 5:30-8:00PM

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