Where has the time gone?

Wow, I'm shocked that it is already November.  I am sorry it has taken me over a month to update my website.  As you know, our class has been busy learning, learning, learning!  Here's what's happening in our classroom now:

Word Study:  We are studying compound words.  Students have 20 compound words to study for their spelling test.  It's really important that they STUDY their spelling words.  They have two weeks with the list of words.  Everyone should be able to get an "A" or "B" on their spelling!

Language Arts:  We finished our short story unit where we learned about folktales, tall tales, fables, and myths.  Right now, we are reading Science Trade Books and exploring different ways our reading is organized, called Text Structure.  Knowing how text is organized will help students with their comprehension.

Writing:  We have been focusing on learning about complete sentences this week.  Students should be able to communicate the difference between a complete sentence and a fragment.  Please emphasize the importance of capitalization and punctuation in sentences.  We still have a few students who are struggling with this concept.  We will be starting to learn about writing a persuassive piece.  This will lead to us writing to express an opinion on a topic. 

Math:  We started our measurement unit this week.  Students are learning about the different sizes of units used to measure length, weight, and time.  Next week, we will explore liquid capacity.

Science:  If you haven't heard already, we are in the midst of our first science unit, Classification.  In this unit, we are learning about different ways to "classify" plants and animals.  We have hermit crabs in our classroom, which students will learn how to take care of them soon!  We will be getting isopods in the near future.  Students will explore the scientific method by conducting experiments with these animals. 

Homework and Agenda:  Many students haven't been getting their agenda signed. This is very important because it's a really good way to communicate with me.  I know that life is very busy, but please try to sign agendas so that I know you are looking/checking in with your child about their homework.  In addition, each Friday, their fluency packet is due. Please make sure that the comprehension questions are answered on Thursday and ready to turn in on Friday morning.  We are really working on our fluency skills in preparation for quarter 2 fluency assessments. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.