Hello, From Mrs. B!
Classroom Updates
Curriculum Night
I wanted to say thank you to everyone who was able to show up Wednesday night. I also wanted to thank you for your continued support. If you signed up to be a volunteer for our class then let me extend a ....double thank you!! I will certainly use every single one of you! If you were not able to come you should have received the power point notes and additional papers from your child on Thursday. If you are interested in helping out in our classroom it is not too late. I would love to have you. Just turn in the green volunteer form or shoot me an email.
There is a lot of information. If you have any additional questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Field Trip
Our first field trip is coming up at the end of Oct. Please make sure to turn in BOTH your student's form and the money by the due date!
You received the information at Curriculum Night.
Vocabulary.....
Students first vocabulary quiz will be next friday 9/12. They will receive thier "comics" and trifold this friday. (read below)
As discussed Wednesday, vocabulary will look a little different this year. Students will learn the greek and latin roots of words. The purpose of this is they will have a knowledge base to decode the meaning of words, including words they have never encountered. We will learn 4 greek or latin roots each week, but they will not need to learn the example words for the roots. They will be expected to learn the meanings of the roots only. These roots will be on a trifold your student will work with daily throughout the week.
Students will also learn 10 vocab words that don't follow traditional greek / latin meanings. Kind of like sight words, words that don't follow traditional phonetic rules they just need to be memorized. To learn these words students simply read the "comic" like memorics, a picture and rhymes to help memorized the words. These vocab "comics" will come home every Friday. My students always love these "vocab comics" and if they are read several times a week the students will learn these words easily! Many students will LEARN all ten words the first time they read them! But, long term memory is built over time. Remember the goal is for your child to know these words forever, not remember them for a quiz! So make sure they take 5 minutes to read them every night!! Also, I have a review week every 5-7 weeks ( end of quarters) where the students will be tested over any previous words.....so help them stick!!
Here is the vocab schedule:
Friday: Students receive their vocab comics (10 nontraditional words) & trifold (4 new greek / roots) and we discuss their meanings.
Monday: Work with greek/latin trifold in class. Study comics at home.
Tues: Work with greek/latin trifold in class. Study comics at home.
Wed: Work with greek/latin trifold in class. Study comics and trifold at home.
Thurs: Quiz on 4 greek/latin roots + the 10 vocab words in the comics.
By the time your student sits down to take the FSA (Florida State Assessment; the new FCAT assessment) your child will have LEARNED: 72 greek/latin roots and 210 additional vocab words!! Their vocabulary will have increased permanently by literally hundreds of words in a few short months. WOW!! AND.....this will be easier on you and your child than previous vocabulary programs you have done in the past!
You can thank me with fine chocolates and diet cokes at the end of the year!! ( ha! smile! wink, wink!!)
Yellow Folders
New Homework to look out for.....
Each week your student will receive a packet entitled "A Paragraph A Week". The packet has step by steps, day by day instructions of how it should be completed. Each night the students complete a different writing step ( should take no longer than 10min. to do WELL ) and at the end of the week the students will turn in a very well written paragraph. Make sure your child does this each night so that they get the most out of it. This guided practice will make a huge difference in the quality of writing the students are able to produce on the FSA this spring. A little time now is worth a big pay out later!!
For extra practice have them type the final paragraph on Thursday night. It might take longer than 10 minutes at first, but as the year goes on they will get faster!
The Assessments Continue.....
The Wrap Up...
Vocabulary is starting next week...words go home on Friday.
You should have turned in your yellow folders!!
Homework nightly: Read 30 min, Study spelling (Vocab next week), and a paragraph a week, and practice typing several times each week!!
Thank you for your continued support!! Your students are amazing!! We get compliments everywhere we go...last week we got a compliment from the ladies in the lunch room. Seriously! If you can stand out in a place like the lunch room that is impressive!! They love to be recognized for their outstanding behavior. Give them a big hug, tell them how proud you are of them, and then tell them you expect nothing less!
Tell the kiddos to enjoy the day and I will see them tomorrow!
Contact me if you need anything!!
Sincerely,
Mrs. B