12/12 - 12/16/

     After a couple of sick days, I am very anxious to get back to school.  The class was in very good hands with Mr. Arnold.  We had a class meeting concerning manners the day before I was out sick.  However, Mr. Arnold took this to a whole new level with manner charts for everyone in the class.  The children were very receptive to this, so I'm hoping to see our manners at an all time high!  How is that for prepping for the holidays!
     Congratulations to Nathan Cobb, who is pictured above with his first place award for the Punt, Kick, and Pass Contest held down at the Ram's Stadium.  He is in the running for the National Punt, Kick, and Pass Contest as well, and has a very good chance of being selected to represent Missouri.  I'll will keep you posted as I find out more information.
     The quarter ends this Friday.  There are just a few more grades of which I am in need.  We will all be taking a spelling test on Thursday over my word pet peeve list.  These are the top ten words misspelled by the class when writing rough drafts.  We will also have a test over the Think Math lessons on Thursday.  Our tests in multiplication will be over the 11x facts, followed by the 12x facts.  After the holidays we will move on to the facts that require a lot of memorization

Here's what is scheduled this week:
Math:  Think Math test on Thursday;  11x fact test on Monday;  12x fact test on Thursday;

Reading:  I will finish the context clue lessons with the class.  The Chocolate Touch and Buttons for Washington groups will be wrapping up their books and response pages.  When Mack Came Back will have to carry over into Quarter 3.

Spelling:  Everybody Spelling list - test Thursday;

Science:  We will continue our study of the solar system when we get back from the holidays.  We will use this time for poetry writing.

S. Studies:  We will begin Chapter 8 after the holidays.  We will use this time to catch up on the Time for Kids Newspapers, which are lessons on current events!

Writing:  Final week for personal narratives.  All narratives are due by Thursday!  Many have written Christmas stories and acrostics in addition to their narratives.  We will begin hearing them on Monday at writing time.

Important Events:
Tuesday - Math Tungsten Test
Friday - Christmas party in the afternoon!

Weekly Update 12/6 - 12/10

     It feels good to be on my blog again!  So sorry I missed a week of updates.  I guess I was just enjoying that Thanksgiving break a little too much last weekend! 
     Now that we are back to work, we are making as much progress as possible in all subjects.  With the end of the quarter so near, you are apt to see more review quizzes in math as well as a final test on Think Math by the end of the quarter.  Along with Think Math (a two week math program that emphasizes strategies for multiplication) we are also beginning to memorize the multiplication facts.  All students have passed the 0,1, and 2x's tests.  Next we will learn the 5, 10, and 11x's facts.  After Christmas holidays we will focus heavily on all the harder facts .  A great website to help with learning these facts is www.multiplication.com.  I recommend that every student uses this site daily.  Now for other news: 

Math- Lessons 5-9 this week.  Please see the Think Math lessons that we have already completed.  They are kept in the math section of the binder.

Reading - We are reviewing the November Tungsten test and taking the December test this Tuesday.  We are also working on figuring out new vocabulary through context clues.  Students should continue to underline and number details when responding to questions in the the literature they read.

Spelling - Tests this week!  Yellow Group/Tuesday, Green Group/Wednesday, and Blue Group/ Thursday.

Science - We are studying our solar system.  Our lessons have focused on Earth's movement and its tilt on its axis.  We are learning what causes day/night and seasons.  We will have a quiz over this material Friday.  However, please consult the daily planner for more information!

Social Studies - Our test over Chapter 7 is this Wednesday.  We will spend Monday and Tuesday working on our Rights and Responsibility posters and reviewing.

Writing - Students are publishing their personal narratives.  Each day we share a finished story, and the class is amazed at how interesting each story is!  Those who are finished with their narrative are either attempting a Christmas disaster fiction story, a Christmas acrostic, or a story of their own choosing.  The important thing is that we are all writing! 

This weeks important events:
Monday:  Winter Holiday Music Program at school at 2:00.  Students perform again in the evening!
Tuesday:  Reading Tungsten Test;  Spelling test - Yellow Group;
Wednesday:  Early Release Day;  Social Studies Test;  Spelling test - Green Group;
Thursday:  Tungsten Math Test;  Spelling test - Blue Group:
Friday:  Science quiz;

PS:  I will notify you by email as to when we will have library.  I will have to schedule a time since our time is cancelled due to Early Release.  We will have the opportunity to buy books at the book fair at that time.