Week in a Peek for Sept 20-24th

Happy Fall!!!  It's hard to believe that October is right around the corner!

Reading:
This week we started working in our guided reading groups.  Our books were non fiction which fit in with our writing prompts. We read The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg and introduced inferencing.  We will continue adding to our comprehension strategy bank throughout the year.  So far we have made connections and inferences.  An inference is when you take your background knowledge, the information from the text, and make an educated prediction that has the probability of coming true. 

Math:
Our problem solver focus is on Discrete Math.  Discrete Math is when you have to make combination of choices and see how many combinations we have.  For example, if we have ham and cheese and PB&J sandwiches for lunch and we can choose apples, oranges, or pudding for a side, and milk, or juice for a drink how many possible combinations can we make?  The formula for solving this type of problem is multiplication.  We multiply the sandwiches X sides X drinks to find out how many combinations.
We also continue to work on Geometry.  Check out the math page to find games to help understand flips, slides and turns.

Writing:
Informational writing is our current focus.  We worked together to find information on the butterfly, fill out a graphic organizer, and begin an information expository essay.  This weekend the students can choose a topic and find information to bring in or they can choose from the many National Geographic Magazines that I have in the classroom.  Students can also choose to use their stories from guided reading to find information for their essay as well.  Students DO NOT have to research at home. 

Science:
Our first science unit will be Earth Materials.  We started the notebooking process with a small activity.  The students predicted which color tooth pick would be the easiest to find in the grass and which would be the hardest to find.  We will work with mock rocks for our first investigation to try to find out what rocks are made up of.

Social Studies:
Our first test will be on Friday October 1st.  The test will be on the 7 continents, 4 major oceans, the equator, and prime meridian.

Other notes:
The Reading NECAP will be held on October 5, 6, and 7th.  Math NECAP will be held the following week on October 12, 13 and 14th.  Please make every effort to have your child here on time as they will not be allowed into the classroom once testing has begun.  If they should miss any part of the test they will have to make it up on a make up day.

Hopefully it will feel like fall soon!  Have a good week!