March 8, 2011

Hello Parents and Students,

Whew! Now that ISATs are all done, we can get back to work! Students worked extremely hard while taking the tests. You should be proud of them. Thank you for making sure they were in school on time and ready. Oh yeah, we had an impromptu popcorn party towards the end of the day Friday. There are a few children that need to do make-ups this week, so they will be finishing this week.

We'll begin Unit 8 Fractions this week in math. We are still exploring simple machines in science. In reading and social studies, we are about to finish the economics/money unit. Our next reading unit is Storytelling and the social studies unit is about Cultures.

This month's reading genre is Poetry. This is national Poetry month, so I thought it would be fitting to teach poetry strategies. Each student will be responsible for memorizing a poem that is at least two or three stanzas long. I will make sure each child understands what that means. We have started writing an interesting piece about money.I will send home the requirements of the assignment by Friday.

By the way, the homework packet should come home today. Each child has one in their mailbox. We will also have the homework raffle on Friday. This time there were more children that turned their homework in on time. That is awesome. Keep up the great work Students!

Students are enjoying the Stories with Holes. Please remember not to give them any hints. When you do, it takes away their ability to think. These stories are great for learning. Here is how it works: I tell the class the story. Each story has major pieces of information missing. Students must figure out what pieces are missing by asking only YES or NO questions. When someone doesn't hear the question that another child asks, they have to raise both hands. This way, the teacher doesn't repeat themselves. It also forces each child to learn to take charge of their own learning. No one is left out, and every one has a chance to think of a question that may help find the answer. The person who answers the question gives the explanation about how they found the answer.

One last thing, I will be absent Tuesday and Wednesday. I am helping my mom this week. I hope to return on Thursday.

Have an awesome week!
Ms. Lyles