Week of 2/27

Read Across America Week is here, so it's sure to be a fun week! See below for the fun ways to participate:

Remember that Literacy Night is Thursday - we hope to see everyone there. It will be an awesome night filled with great family and reading activities, and Sliders will be there with some great dinner options and prices! Flier went home last week with rsvp slip that was due last Friday. If you haven't turned yours in, please turn it in ASAP!! 

We are looking forward to the Book Float parade that's on Friday afternoon at 2:30 in the front bus loop. Our class is doing Blood on the River since we read it together and loved it so much!

See side-bar to the right for some important upcoming dates!

Here's what else is happening this week in room 5:

Language Arts: 
Skills/strategies: we'll be integrating science and reading/writing by reading planet poetrty, researching planets, and creating a model of each group's planet. All of this work will be done in class. :)


Please be sure that your child is reading nightly. Studies show that daily reading shows significant growth in vocabulary development and overall achievement. We want our kids to LOVE books and become lifelong readers, so we must work together to foster that love of reading. 

Math:
We're continuing our exploration of fractions. We've worked on equivalent fractions and will start comparing and adding/subtracting fractions this week. Remember that I always send home the math notebook when there is math homework so that students have a reference to use when completing homework. We often make anchor charts in class that include the steps for whatever we are working on. 
The portaportal site has some awesome review activities to review math concepts at home: http://www.portaportal.com/ 
I sent the login information via email in the beginning of the year. If you need it again, just email me: devon.day@nn.k12.va.us

Virginia Studies:
We are currently studying the Civil War. So far we've learned about the differences between the two sides -the north and the south, and what caused the war to begin. We will continue to explore and review these topics this week. I will send home the notebook daily so students can continue to review notes since it's a lot of information to learn. Be sure to have conversations about what they're learning to help it stick! :) Stay tuned to the agenda for upcoming assessment dates!

Week of 2/6

Happy February! We've got a busy week coming up! Report cards come home tomorrow, and we'll also take our math quarterly benchmark test. Students will take the social studies benchmark test on Thursday; a study guide came home last week. I am confident that students will do a great job if they use strategies that we've learned and if they show their thinking (math)! 

Here is an overview of our week:

Language Arts: 
Skills/strategies: We will continue to explore various types of functional texts such as recipes, brochures, fliers, project instructions, etc. Students will learn to use text features to help evaluate and comprehend the text. 


Please be sure that your child is reading nightly. Studies show that daily reading shows significant growth in vocabulary development and overall achievement. We want our kids to LOVE books and become lifelong readers, so we must work together to foster that love of reading. 

Math:
After benchmark testing is complete, we will continue to explore fractions. So far, we've reviewed fraction basics and learned about improper fractions and mixed numbers. We will explore fractions further by finding equivalent fractions, comparing fractions, finding fractions on a number line, and identifying decimal/fraction equivalents. Remember that I always send home the math notebook when there is math homework so that students have a reference to use when completing homework. We often make anchor charts in class that include the steps for whatever we are working on. 
Remember to use the portaportal site to review math concepts at home: http://www.portaportal.com/ 
I sent the login information via email in the beginning of the year. If you need it again, just email me: devon.day@nn.k12.va.us

Virginia Studies:
We are studying the "New Nation" - things that were happening after the American Revolution. This week we will be delving more into Westward Expansion. I will send home the notebook daily so students can continue to review notes since it's a lot of information to learn. Be sure to have conversations about what they're learning to help it stick! :) Stay tuned to the agenda for upcoming assessment dates!