Literacy
Reading Workshop: Getting to Know Ourselves as ReadersThe Launch Unit of Schoolwide allows us to establish routines for our reading workshop this year. Mini lessons focus on helping to get to know ourselves as readers. Strategies and skills are modeled through read aloud and students are given a chance to practice those strategies and skills independently. I will be using the next three weeks to assess the students' reading levels through benchmarking. This information will be used to form reading groups for the first part of the year.
September Genre of the Month: Reference Nonfiction
On Thursday, students will have the opportunity to select 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 Community
The first unit in Becoming a Writer focuses on developing a writing community within our classroom. During mini lessons, students are exposed to examples of good writing through read alouds and many are inspired to write stories in a similar way. As we read and discuss our read alouds, we have started lists of things to write about in our Ideas Notebook. Many students have already begun working on their first piece!
Math
Unit 1: Working with Whole NumbersStudents are learning about numbers to 100,000, comparing large numbers, and reviewing addition and subtraction of multi-digit numbers. There is a tentative test scheduled for Tuesday, September 10.
Unit 2: Estimation and Number Theory
In 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.
Advanced Math
Unit 1: Whole NumbersStudents in Advanced Math have been learning about place value to the ten millions, rounding and estimating with large numbers, and comparing large numbers. There is a test scheduled for Friday, September 6.
Unit 2: Whole Number Multiplication and Division
In 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.
Science: Our Geosphere
Our science unit begins by exploring ways in which the Earth's landscape can change. This week, students are investigating how abrasion weathers rocks. Next week, they will be further developing their definitions of the terms abrasion, weathering, erosion, and deposition through experiments with glaciers in the classroom. In the final lesson of this cluster, students will continue to learn about these processes with river table investigations. There will be a quiz on the first four lessons of the unit on Thursday, September 19.
Upcoming Events...
September 2 No School: Labor Day
September 4 Final day to place orders through Scholastic
September 6 Back to School Bash 6:30 PM
September 10 VIP/Book Talk: Mrs. Cioni
September 11 Music for Youth Assembly
September 16 Happy Birthday, Patrick!
September 17 VIP/Book Talk: Patrick
