Well... I'm sitting at my classroom computer and I have to admit... it's REALLY quiet in here today! I hope you're enjoying your long weekend. It's always nice to get caught up on planning and paperwork!


Down to business - here's what we've been doing and what we WILL be doing:


Language Arts: We've been discussing and practicing more of our "Mosaic of Thought" reading strategies. We're just finishing up with Synthesis - putting it all together. We read some great books to practice putting all of our thoughts together - "Charlie Anderson" and "Oliver Button is a Sissy" were favorites! Next week we'll begin talking about "Fix-up" strategies" - what happens when you aren't understanding... what happens when the word you read doesn't make sense...when should you reread... These are called "clunks" in our reading and we'll be discussing strategies to "fix" them.



Math: If your child has me for math we've been working with money. Some students may be coming home with cards that have coins on them that they need to practice counting. PLEASE practice counting coins with your child!

I'm so proud of how our fact test scores have improved! KEEP AT IT!!

Next week we'll continue with money and working with word problems. We should be taking our first unit assessment next week.



Social Studies: We're still talking about our Government. This week we had "expert" groups. Small groups of students were responsible for learning different types of governments - state, local, and national. They then had to share their facts with students of other groups. What an awesome class we had!! The sharing of information was unbelievable! We'll be getting ready for a quiz next week and then we'll be starting a Science unit.



Writing: Ideas is still our focus. We've talked about where good ideas come from, now we're talking about main ideas and details. Most are really enjoying our free writing time we sometimes have in the afternoon.



Word Study: Did you realize there were so many ways to make the /k/ sound? This coming week we'll be spelling /k/ with que, ke, and c.



I absolutely LOVE my class this year! They are very caring and responsible. I have, however, noticed some of them coming to school without a parent initial in their agendas. Please check over your child's homework - if there are lots of misspelled words, help them sound them out and correct them. It's a great learning opportunity for them and will show them that taking their time pays off!



Starting Monday, if your child comes without completed homework, without a signed checklist, or no parent initial, they will be losing some recess time. Please remind them how important it is!



Have a great weekend!

Faith Humerick