Newsletter April 29, 2011
Math - We finished unit 10 yesterday and the students did so well. On Monday we begin unit 11, which is a mixed unit focusing on weight, geometric solids and volume/capacity. We will also be introducing study teams, where the students are each given a role as part of their team. This is something we will use quite a bit for the rest of the year as it provides the students with an opportunity to explore the concepts much more thoroughly. This is another very brief unit so the test will be within the next two weeks. I must say I was extremely proud of the growth in unit 10; what a fabulous amount of knowledge the students mastered.
Social Studies - We are wrapping up lumberjacks and I am preparing the simulation for the Civil War, which will be about 5 days of lessons. Then we head into government of Wisconsin and the wars of the 1900’s.
Science - We were supposed to start our new unit this week but had to cancel it due to the weather. Hopefully next week we will be able to start our sun exploration then. This is our final unit of the year and will encompass a moon log, more details to come soon.
Reading - Literacy assessments are this Tuesday and Mrs. Johnston will be our sub, I am looking forward to seeing the growth the students have made. We continue to discuss inferences and got to learn more about the Titanic yesterday as we used inference to discover unfamiliar words and discover new connections. The students are starting to trust themselves more and their own common sense, which will be a huge help with inferring.
Writing - Students are writing their fairy tales and I love hearing the discussion happening in the classroom about how they are incorporating various elements of fairy tales. It sometimes even starts a great debate of whether an element is considered important or not.
Special Notes -
* We had a wonderful guest lecturer this week, when Prof. Schmidt came to teach us more about Hans Christian Andersen. The students had great questions and all thought it was a wonderful experience. I was very proud of how the students represented our amazing classroom.
* This coming week is talent show auditions so please make sure your child knows when they are auditioning and that they have a ride home if need be.
*The students finished their “Diary of…” stories and the ones posted do not have last names in them. We watched all of them in class and I must say this is one of our favorite projects of the year.
* Congratulations to the students representing us in the science Olympiad: Jason, Erik, Aidan, Jenna and Elizabeth. The students also created a wonderful banner with Mrs. Ripp’s Globetrotters; we certainly have been all about the globe this year.
* The party committee met and decided that we are going to have summer party. This apparently entails kickball and popsicles. They are making the poster for the party, determining the date, as well as ironing out any details. One thing we need is better weather!
* Mark your calendars; our final field trip is June 7th where we go to Little Norway and the Cave of the Mounds. We take any people that want to go, so join us for this great field trip.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Talent Show Auditions May 3rd 3 PM and 5th 3:20 PM, Innovation Day is May 9th all day, Talent Show is May 19th at 1:30 PM, Lumberjack Breakfast is May 25th 8:30 AM, Cave of the Mounds/Little Norway field trip is June 7th all day.
