Happy Fair Day!

While everyone is off having a good time, we teachers are here in our classrooms planning for another exciting week! I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing, l-o-n-g weekend! It'll be fun to hear about everyones adventures on Tuesday when the kids come back to school.

Now, here's what we've been doing... and a little of what we WILL be doing...

LANGUAGE ARTS: We are continuing our focus on the "during reading" strategies. Each child has been practicing with books at his/her reading level. I want the students to read carefully while they're enjoying a book...the more they think WHILE they read, the better they understand what they're reading. They need to slow down and process what they're reading. They need to make connections, ask questions, visualize, infer meaning, synthesize, and use fix up strategies to better understand what they're reading! The kids are getting really good at reading a book and using a post-it to mark a strategy they're using. Next week we'll continue with these skills along with "after reading" strategies. This will entail writing summaries of what has been read. We'll be doing lots of practice with this!

MATH: We had so much fun this week making graphs! I was excited to see that so many of us knew what a graph needed and how to make one! I now know where everyone likes to eat in Urbana!!! We will continue with graphing - bar graphs, pictographs, tally charts, etc. - next week.

WRITING: We are still focusing on the Ideas writing trait. I WANT DETAILS is something I'm sure your child has heard enough of! This will continue next week with Ms. Wilde using the Promethean Board for some writing practice. Ask your child what this great piece of technology is!

WORD STUDY: The /k/ sound is still our focus. We'll be working with different endings that make this sound.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Our brochures of different states are still in the process of being completed. I think one more day in the computer lab using CultureGrams will be enough for everyone to get all of the information they need. This information will then be turned into a brochure of that state. Very cool stuff!

As always, I sooo enjoy this class! They are a group of very unique individuals that make me smile every day!

Thanks to all who check this blog and bookbags and take-home folders and agendas and homework!! Wow! Also, please remember to initial your child's agenda daily and sign your child's checklist and send it back.

Again, have a wonderful weekend!
Faith Humerick