Room 303 News 01-11-19

Weekly Updates and Reminders:

• NO SCHOOL Monday, January 21st.  It is Martin Luther, King, Jr. Day!  

MATH
This week students took their iReady Math Diagnostic.  I will compare their growth from the first diagnostic and let you know if your child is not progressing.  Remember, ALL students have access to this online learning tool and can access it at home too!  

SOCIAL STUDIES
Students explored the concept of human/environment interactions by discussing the ways that humans in Michigan use, adapt to and modify their environment. The lesson was enhanced by reading the book, Letting Swift River Go, by Jane Yolen.

SCIENCE
Students rolled paper cups down ramps and observed with the different behaviors of rolling systems with two different sized wheels.  They observed the way cups roll and used the predictable curved rolling path to meet challenges.  They put cups together to make them roll straight and weighted them with pennies in various ways to see how weight affected rolling.  Our focus question was, WHAT RULES HELP PREDICT WHERE A ROLLING CUP WILL END UP?

Word Study/Grammar:

This week for grammar we are on Week Seventeen.  The students are learning about Long i Phonograms and Commas.

Writing:   

We continue to work on informational writing.  The students have been learning about the 5 different text structures and how to use those structures in their own writing.  We have been looking in mentor texts for these structures and reading other passages to examine the way authors use them so we can learn how they can fit into our writing as well. 

Reading:

This week we will be finishing our story Because of Winn Dixie.  The students have enjoyed following the main character, Opal, along the story mountain.  We are talking about how the main character changed from the beginning of the story to the end.  We are also examining what Opal learned and what we can learn from those life lessons as well.  

The students are also enjoying their own books with their Book Clubs where they are applying the skills we are learning during our mini-lessons.   They have enjoyed learning all about how to follow the main character's journey and examine what they learn along the way.  Next, we will be starting the book Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel.  We will be comparing and contrasting the main characters.

We will also be taking our iReady Reading diagnostic this week on Wednesday and Thursday.  I will be communicating their scores to you and also letting you know if they will need to be on an IRIP (Individualized Reading Improvement Plan).