Reminder: Parent Teacher Conferences are on Wednesday and Thursday this coming week!
In Reading Workshop this week we have continued to grow insightful theories about the characters in the books we read. We have searched for precise, true exact words that we can use to describe the characters in the stories we read and supporting our theories with evidence form the text. Example: Sistine isn’t just bossy and sassy, she is passionate about the things she believes in. Sistine doesn’t take no for an answer when Rob tells her that they can’t let the tiger go, she fights for the tiger and even says she will saw through the locks! We also discussed finding the arc of the story. We used this format to help us: “Somebody (main character) Wanted (What he/she desires) But (obstacles in their way) So (how does the main character respond) to help us. As books become more complicated, answering these questions becomes more difficult. We are also looking for ways that our characters are complicated, how are they more than one way?
During Math students took their Topic 2 Practice Test and if needed the Topic 2 Final test. Students are still getting used to the language used in this program and the types of questions being asked. Rest assured, for the most part, scores were much improved on the final test. We also started Topic 3: Using Strategies and Properties to Multiply by 1 digit numbers. Continue to encourage your child to practice their basic math facts at home. I still see a lot of students counting on their fingers for addition and subtraction. It is imperative that your child has instant recall of all of their basic math facts (this was a 3rd grade skill), especially multiplication and division. Practice at home is a must!
In Writing Workshop we continued to draft our scenes. At this point drafting should be complete. Next week we will revise our drafts making sure we have stretched out the heart of the story, and we will work on editing our work for complete sentences, paragraphs, punctuation and capital letters.
This week in science we came back down to earth and looked at fossils. Students examined different fossils and made observations. We also talked about the layers of the earth, from oldest to youngest. (oldest on bottom and youngest layer on top). We took our first Science test today!
Important Dates
Wednesday and Thursday, October 11 and 12 – Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thursday and Friday, October 12 and 13 – 1/2 days – Noon Dismissal
Monday, October 31 – Halloween Parade and Party (more details to come)