Monthly Archives: January 2017

Mid-Week Update

Reminder that students have 1/2 days on Thursday and Friday this week due to the high school conference schedule.

Tomorrow, students have a math test on Topic 6: Using Multiplication and Division to find Area. We reviewed yesterday, and a few problems were sent home for homework to help with review.

We are working on finding character traits in our reading. We are enjoying Because of Winn-Dixie as our mentor text for this unit. Each child needs to be reading a fictional book at home to support the strategies we are learning in class. Reading homework is 25 or more minutes each night. Thank you for your support in this!

In writing we are adding narration to our fairy tale scenes. We are writing a twist to either Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, or The Three Billy Goats Gruff. What fun!

Monday, we honored Martin Luther King, Jr. through studying books about his life and accomplishments. We also worked on individual “6 Words” about MLK. Students who finished posted their 6 words to honor him on their Seesaw page.

In social studies, we are learning about the Three Fires Tribes: The Odawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa. Below is a video of our partner scavenger hunt using the iPads. Our next focus will be on the early explorers that came to Michigan, why they came, and the impact they had.

Video: An iPad Scavenger Hunt in Action

January is here!

Happy New Year to all! I hope your holidays were wonderful. Before break we had a great low-key holiday celebration. Thank you to the MacLachlan, Fine, Dewey and Garrett families for providing treats this time around. 🙂

This past week, we worked our way back into our routines. Math tests went home for Topic 5–although I saw many left in mailboxes on Friday. 🙂 We began Topic 6 in math–finding area of shapes using arrays and multiplication.

In reading we wrapped up our nonfiction reading unit. We will spend some time this week reflecting on our growth as nonfiction readers before we begin our next unit. Our 3rd unit of study focuses on characters in the fiction genre. Our whole-class read will be the story, Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.

In writing, we shared our persuasive writing pieces. Hopefully you had an opportunity to listen to your child read their writing on Seesaw. We are studying fairy tales for our next unit of writing. Last week we revisited the classics of Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Before break, we wrapped up our science unit on Force and Motion. Our focus is now back to social studies. Last week we learned about the Hopewell people of Michigan, as well as the Ojibway, Ottawa, and Potawatomi. We will continue our study of early Native American tribes of Michigan and “The Three Fires” this week.

During these next 3 weeks, we will also be working on our second round of district reading and math tests to measure growth and identify areas of struggle.

Have a wonderful week!