November 19, 2009

Dear 3rd and 5th Grade Families,

This was a very busy week for most students in room 214. Here is what went on in the different sections:

3rd Grade Reading:

Students this week are reading the story: Reindeer Do Wear Striped Underwear by Marcia Thronton Jones and Debbie Dadey. Along with this story students are working on making predictions and determining the important information. Ask your student if reindeer really do wear striped underwear!

Students are also working on grammar and handwriting in my classroom. They should be to page 21 in Handwriting. In grammar, page 43 and 44 were assigned as homework if they did not finish it in class today.

3rd Grade Math:

In math this week we have been talking about perimeter, line plots, tiling, and area! Next week, we will have our test on chapter 3. Students received a review packet from Mr. Kleven and Mrs. Engdahl earlier this week. Tomorrow, we will be discussing diameter and circumference!

3rd Grade Writing:

This week students have been continuing to work on generating story ideas. Students listened to the book: Diary of Worm. Afterward, students created a diary of their creature of choice. Tomorrow will be day 3 in their diary entries! I have seen some very creative diaries including a giraffe, a hamster, a mouse, and a dolphin! Many students have done a great job writing beyond the required three entries. It is great to see them excited about their work. I am sure they would love to share their stories and ideas with you!

5th Grade Reading:

This week we began reading: The Fury of a Hurricane. Many students were excited to share stories of hurricanes and storms that they remember or have heard about. Since we have a short week next week, our final test will not be until next Tuesday. We will review the text on Monday, but I encourage students to bring the book home over the weekend to study!

The skill of the week was reading graphic sources. As a fun activity to practice the skill, students have become weather reporters from around the globe. Students were assigned a graphic source that had information regarding a city somewhere in the world. Tomorrow, students will be presenting their weather report in our afternoon class. They are welcome to bring props for their presentation!

I will list the vocabulary words on the blog each week from now on. Please make sure your student is studying these words throughout the week!

5th Grade Math:

In math we have finished Chapter 2 and we are just beginning Chapter 3. This chapter students will be working with geometry. We are doing A LOT of work with angles, shapes, patterns, tessellations, and measuring. Here is a good site Ms. Brandon recommended to help your student work on measuring angles!


http://www.classbrain.com/artgames/publish/banana_angles_hunt.shtml (copy and paste the link to get to banana hunt!)

As I explained earlier, I have encouraged students to check the blog for "blog points." Blog points are enrichment activities for students to do at home after the school day or over the weekend. It is also a way for me to know that students are frequently checking the blog for homework and test reminders, and notes home to parents! Blog points do not go toward a student's grade, but they do go toward earning a reward at school! Please encourage your student to participate in our blog points and online activities. They will be labeled according to the grade and subject. Students are welcome to comment online OR by bringing the answer to the blog point on a piece of paper to school the next day.

If you have any question or comments, please feel free to send me an email or give me a call.


Have a great weekend!

Ms. Mulvahill