Plans Week of September 29, 2014

Review
Another fun week!  Here are some highlights:

• We took our first math assessment on new content. Overall, students did excellent!

• When we learned about Larry Bell's twelve power verbs, we came up with a fun way to remind ourselves of each word before we engage in a book discussion. Each student jumps up and shouts the word and its meaning with pizzazz. Students called themselves Reading Rangers.

• In Science we used an online took called a dichotomous key to identify tree species outside. Students then created scientific, observational drawings.
  

What We Didn't Get To
We have yet to:

• Keep track of our thinking during reading using sticky notes and using the Reading Journal.
  
• Learn about the parts of a microscope and use one to examine life.
  

Special
Tuesday, September 30 at 10:30-11:15pm
"Eyes on Owls" presented by CASC.

Wednesday, October 1 (our class at 10:30-11:00am)
Picture Day


Reading
Here are the reading lessons we will work on this week:

• Use a writing frame to describe a character's change over time and support the description with evidence.
  
• Use a writing frame to describe a character from a book and support the description with evidence. 
  

We'll be using two more books by Eve Bunting to complete these activities: My Red Balloon and The Wednesday Surprise.
And we'll try one more time to tackle the following lesson this week:

• Keep track of our thinking during reading using sticky notes and using the Reading Journal.
  

Writing
Here are the writing lessons we will work on this week:

• Plan your story using a timeline or an outline.
  
• Bring forth the story arc from beginning, to middle, to end.
  
• Be an effective writing partner by asking for specific examples, asking for clarification, giving compliments, and giving constructive feedback.
  
• Use paragraphs to signal change or important parts.
  

Math
We start a new unit in math this week: Estimation and Computation, which focuses on building students' abilities to estimate and then explores algorithms (ways of computing) for addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Here are the math lessons we will work on this week:

• Develop estimation strategies to use when finding an exact answer is impractical.
  
• Review place-value concepts for adding whole numbers and decimals using a variety of algorithms.
  
• Explore algorithms for multidigit subtraction and make reasonable estimates for the difference.
  
• Model the US traditional algorithms for addition and subtraction using base-10 blocks.
  
• Model addition and subtraction number stories using open number models (includes variables).
  

Science
Here is what we'll be working on this week in Science:

• Read and take notes on pond life
  
• Experience the "Eyes on Owls" presentation and identify the habitat of an owl and its role in the food chain.
  
• Learn about the parts of a microscope and use one to examine pond water.
  

Thanks for Reading!
So that's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

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