November Happenings!

Hi everyone!
Last week was a busy one in Room 8.  We explored the concept of density in science with some hands-on investigations.  PARENTS BEWARE:  Students may be invading your cabinets to explore this concept further.  In class, we used water, cooking oil, and maple syrup to see which was the most dense.  Students were surprised to see the maple syrup sink to the bottom of our container.  If you have some empty water bottles at home, students can make and take their experiments to school for discussion with their peers! This week, students will use their five senses to explore mystery liquids in class.  Look for pictures later in the week!

In fundations last week, we worked with the v-e syllable and how to divide multisyllabic words.  This week, we are starting Unit 4 and will focus on v-e syllable exceptions.  Students will learn when to include the silent e in their spelling and when to drop it.  Cursive letters this week will include the "d" and the "g."

In reading and writing, we are continuing to think about story elements like: setting, character, and plot.  These are things you can easily incorporate into your nightly discussions.  Ask your child to tell you about the main character of their independent reading book:  What are they like?  How do they know?  Where is the story taking place?  What is the story problem?
Another skill we're working on in class is finding evidence in the story to support our ideas.  You can help your child to practice this by asking them to do the same with their at-home reading.  

Please note that this week, students will be starting their Reading Fluency Bags.  Monday these will be introduced to students, and the bags will be brought home for nightly practice.  Parent involvement is needed, so be sure to read the information provided by our Reading Specialist, Betsy Gadbois, to get a better understanding of what is involved.  Fluency bag reading may be done in addition to, but not in place of regular nightly reading.

We've started Chapter 5 in math:  Bar Models for Addition and Subtraction.  In this chapter, students are solving one- and two-step word problems using bar models as a strategy.  When solving two-step problems, one of the most challenging steps tends to be identifying which operation to use.  For extra at-home practice, check out this website: http://www.mathplayground.com/thinkingblocks.html
Select the addition and subtraction model, and your child can have access to all sorts of interactive problems that will allow them to create a bar model and solve the word problems.  It's a wonderful tool!

Also, we are now doing addition AND subtraction Mad Minutes in class, so please be sure to have your child practice their facts each night!

Thank you, and stay tuned......