Literacy
Reading Workshop: Nonfiction Unit of StudyNext week will begin our Nonfiction Unit of Study by learning about different types of nonfiction- literary nonfiction, biography, and reference nonfiction. Students will go on a nonfiction scavenger hunt to see how well they can identify the types of nonfiction books. Students will browse through books, identify the topic, and make observations about how information is presented. As we move forward, we will be looking at a variety of nonfiction text features authors include and how these features help us, as readers, understand the text better.
By the end of September we will have completed the last of our benchmark and beginning of the year assessments- fluency checks, comprehension checks, spelling assessments, and MAP testing. This information will be used to form reading groups and word study groups for the first part of the year beginning in October.
Students will have their first spelling test on Tuesday, September 24. Each student has a unique list of up to 20 high frequency words that was created based on words the student misspelled on the high frequency word assessment. Their lists can be found in their assignment notebooks on this week's page. We will be working with high frequency words for 2 weeks until we are ready to begin our Words Their Way routine in early October. Weekly vocabulary words will also become part of word study throughout the year. Five new words will be introduced each week starting next week.
September Genre of the Month: Reference Nonfiction
Students have selected a reference nonfiction book from the library as part of our Forty Book Challenge. During the month of September, they are asked to read their selected book and complete a brief summary/reader's response in their Reader's Notebook. All entries should be completed in their Reader's Notebook and turned in to Mrs. Cioni no later than September 30.
Writer's Workshop: The Writing Process
As we wrap up "The Writing Community" unit this week, we will begin a two-week unit called "The Writing Process". In this unit, students will select a piece of writing they wrote in our first unit and learn about the process of editing and revising their work for publication.
Math
Unit 2: Estimation and Number TheoryIn this unit, students will be learning about factors and multiples. They will learn to estimate products and quotients, and how to multiply multi-digit numbers using models. Students should be practicing their basic facts every night for 5-10 minutes. There is a tentative test scheduled for Friday, September 27.
Advanced Math
Unit 2: Whole Number Multiplication and DivisionIn this unit, students will be learning to use rules and strategies to multiply and divide multi-digit numbers. Students will also learn to use order of operations to evaluate numeric expressions. Students should be practicing their basic facts every night for 5-10 minutes.
Science: Our Geosphere
This week, students have been learning about the processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition with river table investigations. There will be a quiz on the first four lessons of the unit on Thursday, September 19. In addition to the study guide that came home on Tuesday, students are encouraged to check out the homepage of the class website for our Twitter feed. The class Twitter feed has photos and videos of some of the investigations we did in class. Being able to explain what they learned through these investigations is a great way to review the concepts of abrasion, weathering, erosion, and deposition.Next week we will learning about Earth's moving plates, the different types of plate boundaries, and earthquakes.
Upcoming Events...
September 24 VIP/Book Talk: Patricia
September 27 Happy Birthday, Patricia!
September 27 One Book, One School Assembly to reveal this year's book
September 27 One Book, One School Assembly to reveal this year's book
September 30 School Picture Day
October 1 VIP/Book Talk: George
