February 22-25

Reading:  This week in reading we started learning about text structure. This is how the author organized the text.  We will continue with this next week.

The students received new Latin/Greek words this week.  They also had a spelling test.  They will receive their new words on the 29th.  Some of the groups will have the same patterns or words because the students did not do well on the test this time.  Remember to help them practice their spelling words and new pattern.  

Writing: The students continued working on their country reports.  We are almost finished with these.  They have learned a lot of interesting information.  The students also worked on an opinion piece throughout the week to help bring up their opinion writing score.

Grammar: We reviewed the different types of sentences: simple, compound and complex.  We also reviewed coordinating and subordinating conjuntions.

Projects: The students continued working on their country project.

Misc:  It is already almost the end of the 3rd quarter!  Be on the lookout for information about conferences.

Don't forget to order a yearbook!  

Feb. 15- 18

Reading:  The students received 2 articles and together we highlighted important information.  Then independently they each took the information to write a paragraph.
They received their new spelling words on Monday.  I gave them the challenge again that if even gets a 3 on the test I will bring in a treat.  They also had a Latin/Greek test on Thursday.

Writing:  They continued researching and writing on their continent.  They are still having a hard time determining the difference between a continent, country and a state.  As we continue our writing and our project I'm hoping they grasp this topic more.

Grammar:  This week they learned how to correctly capitalize a title and where commas go in an address.

Projects:  We finished up the autobiography maps and now are returning to the continent research.

MISC:  I am going to be sending home a bookorder on Monday.  It says I will submit on Thursday.  I can wait until Monday 2/29 if anyone needs me to.

In reading, as a whole, the class is not going back into their text to find their answers and therefore they are getting them wrong.  I am making them redo their papers when this happens.  Some are having to go back a third time.  Will you please stress to them the importance of always going back and finding the answers and not just guessing.

February 1-4

I can't believe it's already February!  This year has flown by!! 

Reading: In reading this week we continued reading non fiction text using Scholastic News.  I love how these are current event articles that really capture the students' attention.  We looked at text features, found the main idea and supporting details, and talked about author's purpose.

The 3rd graders are also learning how to pull information from 2 texts to write one piece.  We did one together this week about being a fit kid.  The 4th graders are working in partners to pull information from two articles on the same subject.  They will then put their information together and present it to the class.

We have a spelling test this week.  I told the students in both classes that if everyone in their class received a 3 on the test I would bring them a treat!  Let's hope everyone is studying!! 

Writing:  We started a new writing project this week.  The students each chose a country to research.  The research for this writing assignment is much easier than our last one.I can't wait to find out all the fun things they learn about their different countries.

Grammar: We finished up with possessive nouns and took an assessment.  We then worked with collective nouns.  

Projects: We presented our severe weather projects to the 2nd graders on Monday.  Then we started our new project.  The students are working in groups learning about the different continents.  They will then create maps to represent each continent.