Week 21

We had a special music class today with many visitors. Thanks for stopping by! The kids were very proud to play for you!

Next week:

• We are finished with our predictives!It will give us something to think about as we get ready for the April exams. This week, we will start our performance assessment tasks. These are four on- demand writing assignments designed to assess our student along the standards of the Core Curriculum. This is an initiative from the Chancellor's office.
• The Unit 5 math test was moved back due to the predictive testing. It will now be given on Tuesday.
• I will be out on Wednesday in order to attend a workshop at Teachers College.
• We will have a First Friday focused on fitness. Ms. Rao has volunteered to lead a yoga workshop. We will meet in the Multi media room.
• Finally, the answer to the poll question is all of the above! Great job, voters. Check out the new poll!

Enjoy the lovely weather this weekend!

Week 20

The second progress report went out this week, a bit later than I had planned at the beginning of the year. Thank you for your patience and the feedback on the parent comment section.

We started book clubs this week. Students have met with their fellow club members and have made some short term goals for their reading work. We also worked on rules to help us have productive club meetings. Children are allowed to use the reading work they've done in clubs to help them write their weekly reading response.

Here's what's coming up this week:

• Grades 3, 4 and 5 will take the Math and ELA predictive this week. We will take the ELA predictive on Tuesday and the Math predictive on Wednesday.
• On Monday, we will have our publishing celebration for our picture books at 7th period. Each student may bring in  a drink (no sodas, please) as snacks will be provided. Parents are most welcomed to join us!
• We will wrap up Math Unit 5 and have the unit test on Friday.
• Finally, the answer to the poll question (true or false: 2.5 -1.25 > 1.3 -0.05) is false. The amounts on both side of the sentence are equal. Please check out our new poll question :)

Have a warm week!

Week 19

Our Non fiction picture books are finished! It was a long process and it was important for children to set individual goals throughout the process but the end results look very good!

Here's what to look forward to next week:

• Schools are closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day.
• We are beginning Fantasy Book Clubs. Children will read fantasy books and meet with a same ability level group in order to discuss their reading. This unit builds on the goal setting skills we started with the previous writing unit since groups will be asked to determine the reading pace and assignments for the members of the group. Children have to be responsible for staying on track so that they are ready to participate in their group's discussions.
• December-January progress reports will be given out on Wednesday. 

Have a great weekend!

Week 18

Our first week in the new year was great! We came back from the holiday, rested and ready to resume our work. We made some goals for our writing and are working with more independence. Many students have made plans to finish their NonFiction Picture Books in sections in order to meet the January 13 publishing deadline.

For First Friday, Mrs. Tacconelli led a workshop on weaving. Our students took to it and did quite well. Students took home their looms and can choose to finish their weaving. There is extra yarn in the class if your child wants more. Our thanks to Mrs. Tacconelli, Mrs. Treinen, Mrs. Martin, Ms. Burwell,  Mr. Pinciotti, Mrs. Loeb, Ms. Altman, Mrs. Lewis, . Mrs. Wattenbarger, Mrs. Lewandowski and Alex's grandmother for coming and teaching us how to weave!

Here's what's coming next week:

• We have a visit to the Armory on Tuesday. Students are encouraged to wear sneakers as we will run on the track.
• We are beginning our new Math unit on Multiplication Algorithms and Estimation of Large Numbers. This will involve learning different strategies like the partial quotients method and lattice multiplication. Please refer to the Everyday Math Algorithms link for help in learning the methods. It is important that your child becomes secure with the multiplication facts. Please practice daily with your child the multiplication facts that s/he seems to not remember. You can also check the Math links section of this blog for Multiplication games that help your child work quickly with facts.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy 2012!

Welcome to the new year! I hope everyone had a restful and memorable holiday. I would like to thank all the families for the excellent class gift. It was extremely generous and the sentiments expressed in the card were flattering and heartfelt. Your appreciation is a great motivator and together we will strive to make 2012 the best year yet!

We received some news about testing shortly before the holidays. Please note that the State tests, which were both two days long originally, will now be administered over three days. The ELA test will take place over April 17, 18 and 19, while the NYS Math test will be taken on April 25, 26 and 27.

We are beginning two exciting new units this week:

• In reading, we will begin exploring the fantasy genre. Fantasy is defined as a story containing elements that can only be explained by magic. This genre includes myths and fairy tales. The class was asked to shop for independent books before the break and many children have already begun to immerse themselves in the genres. We will spend two weeks on this before breaking off into book clubs around fantasy. During book clubs, students will be matched with readers on a similar ability level and given structures to help them set goals as readers. Students will work together in groups to talk about their reading, to develop and then nurture ideas about themes, symbols and characters.
• In Social Studies, we will look at the Age of Exploration and learn the reasons why exploration was so important. We will familiarize ourselves with some of famous explorers as well as the consequences of their discoveries.

Here's what else will be happening this week:

• School resumes on Tuesday. Extended Day students are expected to report at 8 am. Everyone else will report at the usual 8:40.
• We will have the Unit 4 test on Decimals and Metric measurements on Thursday.
• First Friday will take place this week. We currently do not have a parent presenter. Please let me know if you are interested in sharing a talent with the class. The months of March and April are also available if you would like to present.

Happy New Year!