Week of November 16, 2015

"What If" homework project diorama of a Quidditch game in Harry Potter by Liana.

Highlights from Last Week:

The latest homework project, called, "What If," inspired students to express some phenomenal creativity. We enjoyed project presentations all week! You can check out students’ work on the Student Work Page. 

Students began their Climate Tour Project. Students chose 3 destinations -anywhere in the world- that they wanted to travel to. The catch was that each destination had to have a different climate. Students researched the causes and effects of their destinations’ climates in order to present their findings on an informational poster. Students are loving this independent science research project.

We completed our unit on multiplication and division. Students proved their mathematical prowess by scoring very well on the Unit 2 assessment, which was a hefty 4 pages! I was very pleased with the overall results. 

Reading time is now an exciting mix of independent reading, insightful writing about reading, and invigorating book group discussions. Students are learning how to push their thinking deeper using our awesome “Topics for Writing About Reading” chart and our “Reading Action Verbs” chart. 

In Writing, we are amping up our techniques for writing personal narratives by using dialogue and bringing out the heart of our story. Students have drafted some amazing stories that I can’t wait to see published!
 
What we didn't get to:

• We only covered decimal models in math last week, so the “comparing” and “adding and subtracting” decimal lessons will be moved to this week.

 

This Week's Plan
 
Special:

• Wednesday: Early release.

Reading:
Identifying Key Ideas and Details. Book Groups.

• Reading Response Journals –Students continue to practice writing thoughtful, evidence-based responses about their independent reading.
• Explicit details and Inferences  –We continue to look at how to explain what a text says explicitly and compare that with how we draw inferences from the text.
• Evidence in the Text –Students will use their own independent reading as well as our class read aloud to identify evidence in the text to support their thinking.
• Book Groups  –We dive into our guided reading book groups to practice the above skills.
• Teacher Read Aloud  –We are getting towards the end of There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom. Students turn and talk to analyze plot developments and character changes over time.

 
Writing:
Personal Narratives.

• Typing Techniques –We will practice typing our stories fast and furiously to get at least one typed page completed in one sitting.
• Using a Thesaurus for Concrete Words and Phrases –Students will explore how to find more explicit, descriptive, vivid vocabulary to spice up and invigorate their narratives.
• Using Checklists to Assess Our Narratives –Students will assess their stories by completing a skills checklist and editing checklist and make revisions and edits as needed.

  
Math: 
Decimals.

• Comparing Decimals –Students will learn how to order decimals from least to greatest.
• Rounding Decimals –Students will learn how to round decimals to a given place value.
• Adding and Subtracting Decimals –Students will learn how to add and subtract decimals using models and a couple of different algorithms.
• Multiplying Decimals Times Whole Numbers –We will explore how to multiply decimals first by drawing models, then by estimating, then by using algorithms.

 
Science:
Finish Weather and Climate.

• Climate Project –We will complete our Climate Tour Project. Students will present their climate research of their three chosen travel destinations on an informational poster.
• Weather & Climate Quiz –I will assess students’ understanding of the water cycle, the causes of weather, and the difference between weather and climate.

 
Homework:
Please visit the Homework Page for full details.

• Students do not have a new Reading Response Blog to respond to. They must respond to my comment to them.
• There is no new homework project this week; however, students will need to complete two reading response entries (one due Wednesday, one due Friday), and assigned parts of their Climate Tour Project. 
• There will be a math page or two each night.
• Students should be reading at least 20 minutes each day and logging it in their planners.

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

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