Last Week Before Christmas Break
Hi Families -
We have finally made it to the last week before Christmas Break. Here is a few things you need to know about this final week.
1) This is our week for gathering (Dec. 16-21). Since Friday is a half day, our gathering will be on Thursday at 2:20 pm. We will be sharing about our study of Jamestown, our weather unit, and some students want to share poems they wrote. These three things will easily take up our 20 minutes of gathering!
2) As I already mentioned, Friday is a half day. I told students that Friday will be an optional pajama day. We might do a movie, play games, extend explorations time, and enjoy ourselves before the break.
This final week will be about finishing projects before we go to our break:
1) In reading, we completed reading Blood on the River. Now we are almost through When You Reach Me. This book won the Newberry Award several years ago. I read this book because it has many details that must be paid attention to in order to understand the cliffhanger of an ending.
2) We have completed our DBQ of Jamestown. Remember, a DBQ (Document Based Question) is answering a specific question by reading through many primary documents, analyzing those documents, developing an opinion, and grounding that opinion in evidence found in those documents. Then, students use that information to write an essay which we learn about as we write the essays. Students learn about topic sentences, using transitional words and phrases, using evidence to support an opinion, writing introductions and conclusions, and many other things.
3) In science we have moved into astronomy. We started a small project in class that has grown into something much larger than I anticipated. Students were to create a 2D or 3D representation of the solar system showing the order of the planets and their composition. This project was assigned in class and meant to be completed in class using material found in class. Needless to say, students are very excited about this project and have brought materials from home. I never intended this, but I appreciate your support. It's hard to say no when students are this excited about learning. So far all projects go beyond my imagination - they look phenomenal! (Now I need to find space for all these projects!) These projects will be completed by Wednesday or Thursday. If you can make it to gathering, stop by and check out these projects. If not, you will be able to see them at our next Curriculum Night.
4) In math we are doing lots and lots of place value work. This week we are working on addition and subtraction multi-digit problems, including solving real world problems. This is where the real difficulty lies, so we are working on these problems diligently. Remember, if you run into problems with any of the math homework, students can receive help during explorations time.
5) We are using our social studies time to get reading for gathering. Students are in groups writing out the information they will be sharing during gathering.
Thanks for everything and have a great Christmas Break!!!
We have finally made it to the last week before Christmas Break. Here is a few things you need to know about this final week.
1) This is our week for gathering (Dec. 16-21). Since Friday is a half day, our gathering will be on Thursday at 2:20 pm. We will be sharing about our study of Jamestown, our weather unit, and some students want to share poems they wrote. These three things will easily take up our 20 minutes of gathering!
2) As I already mentioned, Friday is a half day. I told students that Friday will be an optional pajama day. We might do a movie, play games, extend explorations time, and enjoy ourselves before the break.
This final week will be about finishing projects before we go to our break:
1) In reading, we completed reading Blood on the River. Now we are almost through When You Reach Me. This book won the Newberry Award several years ago. I read this book because it has many details that must be paid attention to in order to understand the cliffhanger of an ending.
2) We have completed our DBQ of Jamestown. Remember, a DBQ (Document Based Question) is answering a specific question by reading through many primary documents, analyzing those documents, developing an opinion, and grounding that opinion in evidence found in those documents. Then, students use that information to write an essay which we learn about as we write the essays. Students learn about topic sentences, using transitional words and phrases, using evidence to support an opinion, writing introductions and conclusions, and many other things.
3) In science we have moved into astronomy. We started a small project in class that has grown into something much larger than I anticipated. Students were to create a 2D or 3D representation of the solar system showing the order of the planets and their composition. This project was assigned in class and meant to be completed in class using material found in class. Needless to say, students are very excited about this project and have brought materials from home. I never intended this, but I appreciate your support. It's hard to say no when students are this excited about learning. So far all projects go beyond my imagination - they look phenomenal! (Now I need to find space for all these projects!) These projects will be completed by Wednesday or Thursday. If you can make it to gathering, stop by and check out these projects. If not, you will be able to see them at our next Curriculum Night.
4) In math we are doing lots and lots of place value work. This week we are working on addition and subtraction multi-digit problems, including solving real world problems. This is where the real difficulty lies, so we are working on these problems diligently. Remember, if you run into problems with any of the math homework, students can receive help during explorations time.
5) We are using our social studies time to get reading for gathering. Students are in groups writing out the information they will be sharing during gathering.
Thanks for everything and have a great Christmas Break!!!
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