We have had a lot of fun this week! We have been collecting returnables for the OEDT, we collected food donations for a local food pantry and celebrated Rivalry Week! MSU won the food can vote, so some of our U of M fan teachers had to sing the MSU fight song over the announcements!
In Reading Workshop this week we started a new unit, “Following Characters Into Meaning.” We talked about becoming the main character, Rob, as we read Tiger Rising and using empathy (I understand how you feel) and sympathy (I know how you feel because I have been in a similar situation) to help us understand what a character is thinking and feeling, we can make these connections to a character to help us find deeper meaning in the text. We are also looking at how the author portrays Rob through his words and actions.
In Writing Workshop we have continued to draft scenes for our realistic fiction stories. We worked on the heart of our story and stretching it out and making sure it is the most important part of our story. We will be working on putting our stories together and writing final copies next week.
In Math we started our new unit on multiplication. We learned about the area model for multiplying and the tens trick. Ask you child to show you how to use the tens trick when multiplying with a number that ends in zero. The students were also introduced to our math workshop rotations!
In Science we have finished up our View from the Earth unit. This week we spent time looking at fossils and learning how fossils can help tell us about the past. Wednesday was also National Fossil Day! We looked at real fossils, read a book about fossils and watched Bill Nye: Fossils! Please look for a Science Review sheet to come home on Monday, the science test will be on Wednesday.
Important Dates
Monday – Wednesday, October 19-21 – Conferences. Your time slip came home already. I look forward to meeting with you.
Friday, October 23 – No school
Friday, October 30 – Halloween Parade at 9:00 AM Party – 9:30-10:20
Thursday, November 5 – All Janie’s orders must be picked up from school between 5:00 and 6:30 PM