Woods Weekly
Week of August 31st-September 4th
Classroom Happenings
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I wanted to give you a heads up about some changes to our classroom policies and procedures.
Instead of using our classroom clip chart, we will be focusing on a classroom economy. At the beginning of the year, all students received 3 smileys and 2 bathroom passes. When students are following procedures and putting forth their best effort, they can earn more smileys; however, when they are not following procedures, they can also have smileys taken away. At the beginning of each day, students have the opportunity to use their smileys to buy additional bathroom passes. They can also trade in their grey smileys for green and red ones; green smileys are worth 5 and red are worth 10. At the end of the month, students will be able to buy fun prizes such as: sit in the teacher's chair, bring a stuffed animal to school, and spin "The Wow Wheel." Students can also buy stickers, erasers, and healthy snacks.
Students who have 1-2 smileys taken away will talk with me, and we will discuss how to correct the behavior. If 3-5 smileys are taken away, the student will write a note home explaining what he/she was doing and what he/she should have been doing. This note must be signed and returned to school. More than 5 smileys taken away will warrant a behavior report being filled out on Skyward; this behavior will be reported to the principal and to you.
With our change from RDS to Skyward, I will be changing the way my gradebook is set up. Instead of homework being worth 100 points, quizzes being worth 300 points, and tests being worth 600 points, I will be weighing my grade book so that homework makes up 25%, quizzes 30%, and tests 45% of your child's grade.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
Here is a look at what is coming up next week:
Science:
We are wrapping up our study of rocks and how they are alike and different. We will finish our chapter by learning about the three different types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Students will receive a chapter study guide on Tuesday and will have all of class to work on it and ask questions. What they do not finish will become homework. We will go over the study guide on Wednesday and play a review game on Thursday. The chapter test will be on Friday. To help prepare for the test, students should look over their: study guide, "Properties of Rocks and Minerals" booklet, "Types of Rocks" booklet, and old worksheets.
Social Studies:
At this time, we are not covering a social studies chapter. I normally switch between science and social studies. After we cover two chapters of science, we will switch gears and work on social studies.
Math:
Last week, we started exploring area by using our pattern block pieces to cover various shapes. This week, we will use the standard shape for calculating area, the square.
The remainder of the week will be spent on the area model of multiplication and division. The area model involves using linear pieces to represent the factors in a multiplication problem and the square pattern block pieces that fill in the frame represent the product. In division, the linear pieces represent the divisor and quotient while the pattern block pieces represent the dividend (the number being divided up). Using the area model helps students get a visual for what is happening when they multiply and divide.
Reading:
We are working on establishing our 90 minute-reading block procedures and routines. This week, we will be talking about the 3 voices we use when we read. These voices are the: thinking voice, reading voice, and distracting voice. Our reading voice is the voice we use when we simply read the words on the page. Our thinking voice is our voice that interacts with the text and has us questioning, predicting, inferencing, and visualizing. Our distracting voice is the voice that gets us off topic. I am currently reading the first book of the Spiderwick Chronicles to the class. We will practice using our different voices as we continue this story. We will also discuss the different connections that can be made with a text such as text-to-text, text-to-world, and text-to-self.
Writing:
Right now, we are focusing on a unit grammar. Last week, we reviewed types of sentences: interrogative (?), imperative (.), declarative (.), and exclamatory (!). This week, we will review the types of sentences and then begin working on subjects and predicates.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Woods
Spelling:
Specials and Lunch/Recess Schedule
Tuesday: Music and Gym
Wednesday: Music and Gym
Thursday: Computers
Friday: Art
Lunch: 12:20-12:50
Recess: 12:50-1:20
Important Dates to Remember:
September 7th: Labor Day/ No School
Contact Information
Email: jkras@valpo.k12.in.us
Website: http://misskrasclass.weebly.com/
Location: 305 Franklin St, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: 219-531-3030