MATH
We are set to begin review on Unit 4: Decimals and Their Uses when we return from the Thanksgiving holiday. The assessment will be on Wednesday, December 2nd.
In this unit we began the more formal study of decimals through the thousandths.
The four main areas of focus in Unit 4 are:
Literacy
We are well into our Non-Fiction unit in the Schoolwide Literacy program. Students have been introduced to the the three main types of non-fiction texts:
After exploring the features of each type of non-fiction, students were guided through the different text structures of non-fiction texts. These included descriptive (main idea and details), problem/solution, cause and effect, chronological, and compare/contrast. Through identifying these text structures students are able to interact with the text at a deeper level and have better comprehension.
Finally we discussed author's purpose in writing non-fiction text. Students learned that author writes to inform, to entertain or to persuade. Students will be asked to identify author's purpose of non-fiction texts they read using evidence from the text to support their thoughts. Understanding why an author wrote a selection will once again allow students to engage in the text more deeply with a better understanding of the content.
We will continue to practice these reading strategies as we finish up this unit in the short time before the winter break. Also during this time students will be reading a biography of their choosing. Our class will present a Living Museum at OMS on Friday, December 11th from 2:30 to 3:15 in the Commons. Students will bring home details in a letter home on Monday, November 30th.
Students continued work in their"Grammar" folders. Different types of sentences were reviewed and their more formal names presented. Students should now use the following names when identifying sentences:
Statements= Declaratives
Commands= Imperatives
Questions= Interrogatives
Exclamations=Exclamatory
Students seem to be enjoying this study of grammar.
WEX
Students completed their SOS narratives and many of you had a chance to see them displayed at conference time. Next we will use the information students learn while reading their biography books to write an expository essay on that person.
Social Studies
Our study of Native Americans was kicked off with a wonderful field trip to The Grove in Glenview. In our first chapter we focused on the migration of native people across the land bridge near present day Alaska and the adaptations they had to make as they settle into new environments. The four different environments that the Native Americans settled in: Arctic Ice Fields, Mountain, Desert and Grasslands were explored. Next we will study the motivation behind European exploration in chapter 4 of our History Alive program. Please see some wonderful photos below from our field trip to The Grove.
We are set to begin review on Unit 4: Decimals and Their Uses when we return from the Thanksgiving holiday. The assessment will be on Wednesday, December 2nd.
In this unit we began the more formal study of decimals through the thousandths.
The four main areas of focus in Unit 4 are:
- To extend the base ten place value system to decimals
- To review and extend basic concepts, notation and applications for decimals
- To review relationships among metric units of length and guide students in how to use them
Literacy
We are well into our Non-Fiction unit in the Schoolwide Literacy program. Students have been introduced to the the three main types of non-fiction texts:
- Literary non-fiction (telling facts in a creative way through story or poem format)
- Informational/Reference
- Biography
After exploring the features of each type of non-fiction, students were guided through the different text structures of non-fiction texts. These included descriptive (main idea and details), problem/solution, cause and effect, chronological, and compare/contrast. Through identifying these text structures students are able to interact with the text at a deeper level and have better comprehension.
Finally we discussed author's purpose in writing non-fiction text. Students learned that author writes to inform, to entertain or to persuade. Students will be asked to identify author's purpose of non-fiction texts they read using evidence from the text to support their thoughts. Understanding why an author wrote a selection will once again allow students to engage in the text more deeply with a better understanding of the content.
We will continue to practice these reading strategies as we finish up this unit in the short time before the winter break. Also during this time students will be reading a biography of their choosing. Our class will present a Living Museum at OMS on Friday, December 11th from 2:30 to 3:15 in the Commons. Students will bring home details in a letter home on Monday, November 30th.
Students continued work in their"Grammar" folders. Different types of sentences were reviewed and their more formal names presented. Students should now use the following names when identifying sentences:
Statements= Declaratives
Commands= Imperatives
Questions= Interrogatives
Exclamations=Exclamatory
Students seem to be enjoying this study of grammar.
WEX
Students completed their SOS narratives and many of you had a chance to see them displayed at conference time. Next we will use the information students learn while reading their biography books to write an expository essay on that person.
Social Studies
Our study of Native Americans was kicked off with a wonderful field trip to The Grove in Glenview. In our first chapter we focused on the migration of native people across the land bridge near present day Alaska and the adaptations they had to make as they settle into new environments. The four different environments that the Native Americans settled in: Arctic Ice Fields, Mountain, Desert and Grasslands were explored. Next we will study the motivation behind European exploration in chapter 4 of our History Alive program. Please see some wonderful photos below from our field trip to The Grove.