I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays, and the vacation, and is excited about starting 2012 with a bang! I wanted to take a few minutes and review some of the things we've done this year, and to let you know about some of the fun still to come!
First, I'd like to say thank you so much for all of the gifts and kind words that you sent before the break. You really know how to make a teacher feel supported! Teaching is sometimes challenging, and your children are the reason that I love this job, and the reason I believe it is the most rewarding job in the world. So thank you!
Math
Where have we been?
So far this year, we have worked hard to review and learn new concepts. We have reviewed geometry and big numbers, and learned new ways to multiply. The children have really built on what they learned in 3rd grade, and are ready for our next challenge ~ division!
Where are we going?
We are beginning the division unit this week. As I mentioned at many parent conferences, automaticity of math facts will be essential for this unit. Practicing these facts will really help the children. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to practice, your children can use this link to practice their facts. After we finish the unit on division, we will move onto fractions and then area and perimeter. During this time, we also will begin to focus on preparing for the Math MCAS test, which will take place in May.
Reading
Where have we been?
We have had a great start to Reading this year! The children enjoyed our interactive read alouds ~ Mr. Popper's Penguins and The Family Under the Bridge. We focused on many reading strategies including character traits, asking 'talkworthy' questions, and narrative elements. The children have been focusing on choosing JUST RIGHT books, and are continuing to focus on reading the same book at school and at home. This is really an important part of our Reader's Worshop.
Where are we going?
This week we will begin our next interactive read aloud, Stone Fox. We will discuss using details from a story to answer questions, and focus on finding the important details to support an answer. After we finish this book, we will watch the movie Stone Fox and complete a compare/contrast activity between the book and the movie. We will also begin to prepare for the reading MCAS test soon. This test will take place in March.
Writing
Where have we been?
We have worked together to learn the new Writer's Workshop method of teaching and learning writing. I can say that our students have embraced this and are enjoying writing! During the first part of the year, we really focused a lot on generating good ideas and writing about those. The children are currently working on their next published piece.
Where are we going?
Once this piece is published, we will shift our focus slightly to writing to a specific topic. Rather than allowing the children to choose the topic, I will provide the topic, and help the children use what they've learned to write about it. This will help to prepare the children for the writing portion of the MCAS, which will take place in March. We also will focus on the mechanics of writing, and some strategies for editing work.
Where have we been?
This fall we focused on our study of Heredity and learning about Hurricanes as the preview to our weather unit.
Where are we going?
We will begin the full-fledged Weather unit this week. This unit will cover many topics, including weather forecasting, weather maps and fronts and currents. This will take a while to get through, but the children really enjoy learning all about weather. Later this spring we will learn all about Electricity and Magnetism as well.
Social Studies
Where have we been?
Wow! We did a lot of SS this year so far! We learned about Maps and Globes, Mexico and Canada!
Where are we going?
We will continue to focus on map skills through our Daily Geography. This will continue throughout the school year. In addition, in the next few weeks we will begin our journey through the Regions of the United States. This is a fun and exciting unit for the children. I hope to take them on different "virtual field trips" so that they can experience some of the exciting things that are out there in our country. This unit will span most of the spring.
There are so many fun things planned this year! I know it will be a fun rest of the year!
No comments:
Post a Comment