I was so excited last week that we made it through a full week of school without any late starts, early outs, or inservice! The kids were tired by the end of the week, but we did it. Guess we can't hope for that two weeks in a row. Here comes the fog! Not much we can do about it so we might as well just stay positive and keep trudging through everything. Spring will be here before we know it!!!
Because of having a "normal" week last week, we did get a lot accomplished. I have a few students who only have 1 or 2 sets of multiplication facts to accomplish before they have completed all of them! Great job to all the students who have been working at home. I can really tell who is practicing and who isn't. Along with this, we have moved into reading and writing decimals. This is a tough concept for most students, as it is a beginning skill. We have been using base 10 blocks to build a better understanding of tenths and hundredths, which seems to be working well. We will continue with decimals and large numbers throughout the week with an end of the unit assessment coming up soon. For now, keep working on those multiplication facts. Students have until the end of the month and first two weeks of April to master all of the facts through 10. I know they can do it!!!
Types of fiction has been the focus of some of our mini lessons in literacy the past few weeks. Students have done a great job becoming familiar with the elements of various types of fiction and recognizing the differences. This week, we will be moving into nonfiction by taking a look at biographies and autobiographies in preparation for an upcoming event that has been a favorite in the past. Look for information sent home at the end of the week about a biography project. This project will require a lot of dedication and time spent working at home so please be looking for it. More information will be sent home as well explaining the activity. I am very excited about and know the students will be as well.
We are also having a little fun by moving into figurative language. Thus far, we have discussed and done activities revolving around similes. Students will be writing simile poems about themselves this week as a culminating activity. We will then be moving into reading, recognizing, and writing phrases with personification, onomonopeia, and alliteration. These are all forms of figurative language that students should recognize as well as utilize in their writing. We usually have a lot of fun and read various types of poetry within this study as well.
Science. . . . we are trying to get through our unit on Force and Motion. Last week we did get a lot accomplished, which was nice. The problem is that when we have a late start or early out, science or social studies do not get done because our district wants us to focus on literacy and math every day. Therefore, we are having a hard time getting our science unit done. With the third quarter ending this Friday, I am looking at having some mini assessments over what we have covered thus far and then finishing the unit next week into the 4th quarter. I am still in the "organizing" stage of this and will let you know what I decide. If there is a mini assessment at the end of this week, look for science materials to come home midweek for students to study from. They are doing a superb job with the concepts thus far, which is great! If only we had more time in the day.
If your 3B child hasn't told you, we did start cursive last week. We will be using some of our "Morning Meeting" time to get through at least the lower case letters before the end of the year. The students were very eager to get started! If you remember, ask them to tell you what the "3 P's" are for cursive. I am pretty sure they will remember.
For those of you who signed up to be Mystery Reader, I will hopefully have schedules done this week. I am waiting for one more parent who called me last week. Thanks for being so patient.
Have a great week and stay dry!
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