Happy Friday! Well, my day is winding down from back-to-back conferences, so I wanted to get this out before I leave school! Here's what is going on: Language Arts: We've been working with During Reading Strategies - connections, questioning, visualizing... Next week we'll be using two new strategies - inferring and fix-it-up. Inferring happens when something isn't explicitly said, but you can "infer" that it is happening. Fix-it-up strategies are what we use when we aren't understanding the text. We'll be reading some great books to practice these skills. Math: We're working on addition and subtraction strategies so we can apply them to larger numbers. We covered using Base 10 Blocks to draw pictures and expanded form this week. Next week we'll work with number lines and 300's charts. We'll also be practicing what we know with word problems. PLEASE practice addition and subtraction facts at home, even if it isn't on the agenda. Computer fact games, flashcards, etc., are wonderful ideas to use. Social Studies: After talking about continents and countries, we're focusing on Maryland. When we finish with Maryland, each student will be choosing a state and writing a brochure about it. We'll be using laptops in our classroom to get the needed information. I can't wait to see what state each child chooses and their finished product! Writing: We've been talking, talking, talking about Ideas for writing! Every day we make lists that we could write about. Next week we'll be learning about Peer Conferencing for our Writer's Workshop. Word Study: Our focus next week will be homophones. Word that sound the same but the meaning and the spelling are not. Cursive: Different curves and how to form letters properly will be our focus. Information: Some parents needed to know how to access Find Out First. Go to FCPS.org and there will be a place to click on to sign up. Math fact practice - UESLearn has some great places to go on the computer for fact practice. NO SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY! October 8 is a two-hour dismissal day. PLEASE check the blog sometime this weekend! I'm going to be putting pictures on of butter making, map work, and our banking system. Have a great weekend! Faith Humerick