This week…
Math: We will continue with money. Kids need to be able to subtract across zeroes and then make change using the least amount of coins and bills possible. This has been difficult for some. Have your child tell you how to make $24.62. They should say one twenty dollar bill, four one dollar bills, a half dollar, a dime, and two pennies. Many kids are getting the right amount but not using the least amount of coins possible. If they can do this correctly, write the word MONEY in the planner for $10 on Monday. We will also connect money to the tenths and hundredths place value. We will also start a program called number talks. This is a 5 to 15 minute program that allows kids to take a problem, solve it mentally, and then share their strategy to solve it. This allows kiddos to see that there is not just one correct way to solve math and get the right answer and that the standard algorithm is not always the fastest way. Three of us from Arrowhead took this training this Saturday and were blown away at the math we could do in our heads using other strategies. Wow!
Spelling: long and short o sounds. It was the first week of alternate testing. The kids overall did great. Many book spellers are now qualified to accept the alternate challenge. Remember, no matter what test you are taking, you must score a 100% in order to be offered the alternate list. Congratulations to Krissy, AJ, Josh, Dominic, Noah B, Avery, Reece, Laney, Adler, Noah L, Morgan, and Gabrielle for making it this week. I will ask them tomorrow which test they would like to take this week. Well done everyone!
Language: Adjectives.
Lead 21: We will finish up our nonfiction piece on heritage. Students will take a final test on the information and the skills of determining important information and looking in text for answers. Then, we will head into our fictional pieces in whole group and small groups. I graded small group work. Some kids will be moving to higher levels, some will stay the same, and some will move down a level to help them be successful on their level.
Science: Hurricanes. Connecting wind unit to violent storms. We will make an origami hurricane that will allow students to adjust the size of an eye and see what happens when the eye and feeder bands go over land. Cool!
Social Studies: We only have one chapter left in Fallen Rock so we will finish that up tomorrow. The rest of the week we will be working on mapping skills including cardinal directions, intermediate directions, using a scale, reading a key and a legend, and latitude and longitude. Soon, we will venture into our first US region, which will be the Northeast.
MT History: Continental Divide along with major rivers and mountains found in MT.
Fly Time: Character Superheores. We will finish these up. Art work will come home this week. :0)
Last Friday, we presented our Inquiry projects. My goodness they rocked the house! We had timelines, heritage heads, artifacts, recipes and food galore! I could really tell that students took this seriously and really got into it. So many of them were able to clearly explain how their presentation resembled the passing of something down from one generation to the next. I was very proud to be their teacher! Some kids got knocked down a few points for volume in presentation. If I could not hear them clearly in the back of the room, their grade went down five points. There were also a few that I had to remind them to talk about the passing of their item down from generation to generation. Overall, check your online grade book to see the amazing scores!
Landon was star of the week last week. He will be presenting to us on Monday. Reece is this weeks, but I understand he will be gone on Friday. Lucky for us, he brought in that adorable puppy last week to share. :0)
I am planning on looking at the testing schedule for NWEA Map testing this week. We may sneak down to the lab a couple of mornings and do a test or two. Two kiddos will be gone later this week and into the next. Since there is a cut off date, I think we might be wise to just get these done, and leave the following week for makeup testing. No stress, just our best!
Is your child interested in becoming an Iron Eagle this year? This is a program with Mr. Pertuit, the gym teacher. Information came home earlier this month. Just a reminder that in order to qualify, kids need to have respectful behavior at home and at school, no missing assignments, good grades, be active weekly in a fitness club or other event outside of school (which they need to report to Mr. Pertuit) and have 5 hours of volunteer hours in the quarter. Mr. Pertuit has some opportunities for kids to earn this if they don't have a way at home in their communities. It is the student's responsibility to arrange that with him. Those that make it into the club will be honored at a school assembly and will be given some pretty cool prizes. This program is sponsored by Granite Fitness. Please contact Mr. Pertuit if you have questions. All kids are welcome and encouraged to do this!!!
Well, that is about it for now. I leave you with some fun photos of your kiddos presenting on Friday. Enjoy the beautiful day!!! Rumor has it we have a birthday girl on Monday…right Morgan??? :0)
Mrs. Grewell
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