Update

Good morning,
It's that time of year!  We take time to reflect on our lives and what we are thankful for.  I am truly blessed to be working with such a great group of students, parents, colleagues, and community.  My wish is that everyone's Thanksgiving holiday is filled with warmth, family, friends, and love.

This week I plan to introduce Genius Hour to our students.  Coming back from break, they will get two 90 minute days a week (up until winter break) to work on a project they are passionate about.  They must create a project that has a research component, has the potential to make the world a better place, and showcase a passion of their's.  Please check out our Genius Hour tab on the blog and ask your child about Genius Hour over break.  They should have an idea ready to submit when we get back on 11/27.

Upcoming Dates & Notes

• PE sent home permission slips for their skating unit, please sign and return by 11/27
• 11/22-11/24: Thanksgiving Break
• 12/1: PE Field Trip to the Firehouse
• PE is sending slips home today; please sign and return asap
• 12/6: Late Start; 11:05 start
• 12/14: Mrs. Nagy out in the PM
• 12/21: Half day for students; dismissal @ 1:05
• winter parties
• 12/22-1/3: Winter Break

Weekly Update - November 17

Happy Friday!  Take a look at what we've been up to in our classroom...

Math
In our Multiplication and Division unit this week, mathematicians focused on developing division strategies.  We did this by...

• using mental math to find quotients
• estimating quotients
• interpreting remainders

Please remember to practice math facts nightly.  In addition, Practice Buddies are assigned daily.  Students are welcome to complete these as optional homework.

Science
The Ninjas are continuing their Structures of Life unit with Mrs. Waters.

Social Studies
In our Early Settlement unit, students worked to complete and present information relating to the Late Missouri Tribes.  We also read and discussed the arrival of Europeans in the Missouri area.  On Friday, we also had a speaker come to teach us more about Sacajawea!

Reading 
In our Views, Values, and Cultures of Others unit, readers worked to...

• consider multiple points of view for the same event
• recognize their own cultural lens and how that impacts their point of view

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
We wrapped up our Personal Essay unit!  Writers ended our unit by...

• revising their writing pieces using a learning progression
• editing their writing pieces for run on sentences, capitalization, and puntuation

We will begin our Poetry unit when we get back from Thanksgiving Break!

Upcoming Dates

• 11/22-11/24: Thanksgiving Break
• 12/6: Late Start; 11:05 start
• 12/14: Mrs. Nagy out in the PM
• 12/21: Half day for students; dismissal @ 1:05
• 12/22-1/3: Winter Break

Veterans Day

November 10 Weekly Update

This week in our classroom...

Math
This week in our Multiplication and Division unit, students continued working through our Teachers' Lounge investigations to continue to develop their understanding of place-value and strategies for division.  Next week we will begin our EnVision lessons again and Practice Buddies will be assigned daily as optional homework.

Please remember to practice multiplication facts nightly.

Science
The Ninjas have worked through their first learning target in their Structures of Life unit with Mrs. Waters.

Social Studies
In our Early Settlement unit this week, the Ninjas started to research Late Native American tribes of Missouri and plan a presentation.  Ask your child which tribe they researched and are creating a presentation for!

Reading
We wrapped up our Nonfiction unit this week by...

• pulling out the main idea with supporting details of a text
• creating a presentation for our Natural Disasters

Our next reading unit of study will be Views, Values, and Cultures of Others.  We will focus heavily on point of view and perspective.

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
In our Personal Essay unit, writers worked to...

• revise for transitions in their essays
• revise introductions
• revise conclusions

We will be wrapping up and celebrating our Personal Essay unit next Friday!

Upcoming Dates

• 11/15: Library Checkout
• 11/17: Pretzel Sale; form and money turned in by 11/16
• 11/17: Springboard Performance; Sacajawea
• 11/17: Progress Reports go live
• 11/22-11/24: Thanksgiving Break 

November 3 Weekly Update

Welcome to November!  We had such a busy week with Halloween, Late Start, and Author's Visit, and JA Day.  Take a look at what we've been doing in our classrooms...

Math
This week we started our Teachers' Lounge lessons!  Mathematicians are working to solve situational division problems with math partners.  Through their problem solving, mathematicians are developing efficient skills to solve problems involving division.  Ask your child what situations they have been working to solve!

Please remember to practice math facts nightly!  Next week will be our last week working in the Teachers' Lounge lessons.  Practice Buddies will start back up on November 13.

Science
The Ninjas are working hard in their Structures of Life unit with Mrs. Waters!

Social Studies
In our Early Settlement unit, the Ninjas have been learning about the first Missourians and late Missouri tribes.  Our focus question was, "Who were the first people in Missouri?"

Reading
In our current nonfiction unit, readers continued to develop their nonfiction reading skills.  We focused on the learning target "I can tackle challenging texts."  We discussed strategies for understanding difficult language and vocabulary in our nonfiction texts.

Writing
In our personal essays, writers worked to organize their drafts by checking to make sure they had strong reasons and evidence to support their claim.  Next week we will focus on adding strong evidence to our essays and revise for transitions and introductions.

Upcoming Dates

• 11/6: No School; Records Day
• 11/10: Veterans Day Celebration; assembly @ 1:30
• 11/22-11/24: Thanksgiving Break; No School

Author Visit Photos

Halloween