During the first week we spent a lot of time going over and practicing procedures, and your students did rather marvelously. Both I and Mrs. Macleod were impressed by their effort and dedication to learning. This week we will begin diving into the content which will be the vehicle of learning this year. This WeekIn Spalding we will be setting up our Spalding notebooks and reviewing our phonograms. We will have a spelling test on Friday based on the words that will be on rule pages 1 and 2 in their Spalding notebook, but students should not try to memorize the spelling of those words. Instead they should work on memorizing the phonograms and their sounds and recalling the rules of spelling that we will go over through the week. In Literature we will continue reading Prince Caspian and exploring the story of the Pevensie children as they return to Narnia. Students will have reading and a worksheet every night as homework, so make sure you are checking to make sure it is getting done. It is ALWAYS beneficial to have your student read to you or another adult or older sibling. The benefits that are returned on such time investments are incredible. In Math we will be reviewing mental math strategies for doing subtraction. A skill students reviewed last week which will also be critical to their success with mental math in subtraction is "making tens." Making tens involves breaking apart numbers in your head in order to make groups of ten, which are easier to work with mentally. For example in the problem, 48+13, we would take 2 out of 13 and mentally add it to 48. This would change our number sentence to 50+11, which is far easier for us to add to the sum of 61. Mental math strategies give your student a comfort with math which leads to confidence and enjoyment. Encourage them to practice their mental math skills and they will greatly improve their math fluency. In History we will be learning about the fall of the Roman empire. Both internal and external forces had a part to play in the demise of the greatest power the ancient world had ever seen. Be sure to ask your students what weakened Rome and who ultimately toppled it in 476 A.D. In English Language Arts we will review the formation of Spalding cursive letters. After Tuesday all students will be expected to write in cursive at all times, unless otherwise stated. Require your scholar to write in cursive, and call them to a high standard of neatness and letter formation. Students will rise to our expectations, and if we are firm in our desire for neat and ordered handwriting, then they will surprise us with their ability to write beautifully. We will also be reviewing the concept of parts of speech in the English language and the role of nouns. A specific skill we will be learning is how to identify the difference between a common noun and a proper noun. Nouns are all around us every day. Help your student by asking them to identify whether a noun that comes up in conversation is a proper noun or a common noun. Ask them to explain why they give the answer they do in a complete sentence. If you make a habit of little reinforcement lessons like this, your child will easily pick up grammar concepts as they grow as a scholar. Upcoming AssessmentsThis week there will be several tests and quizzes at the end of the week: 1. Spelling Test (Friday the 18th) 2. Mental Math Skills Quiz (Thursday the 17th) 3. History Quiz on the Fall of the Roman Empire (Friday the 18th) *Quiz and test dates are subject to postponement if the teacher feels the class needs extra time learning the subject. Quiz and tests dates will never be given earlier than scheduled. **There may be a pop quiz the following week on common vs. proper nouns. Make sure your students are practicing at home! Other Announcements1. Remember that this Friday is a half-day! Students should not bring a lunch and dismissal begins at 12:00 pm.
2. We are planning for the upcoming partial-eclipse on August 21st. Because of the inherent dangers the eclipse poses to our students' eyes, we will likely be watching a live stream of the eclipse in our classrooms. We are taking every precaution to protect your students, but also give them access to this rare and exciting experience. Comments are closed.
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AuthorBurk Ohbayashi is a husband, a father, and an educator. Archives
March 2018
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