Mrs. McDonald's Newsletter
November 16th-20th
Literacy
Reading:
- We will be continuing to read fictional texts, but will begin focusing on stories from different cultures. Many of the texts we will read will have a variety of versions from around the world like Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood.
- After reading at least two different versions of The Three Little Pigs, students will be asked to compare and contrast the two stories.
- During the conference weeks, we will also be practicing and "performing" a reader's theater of the Three Little Pigs.
Writing:
- This week the students will be challenging themselves to start adding examples or explanations for their reasons in their opinion papers.
- The prompt for the students' opinion papers is "Who do you believe?" Students will have to choose whether or not they believe the three little pigs or the wolf. Then they will have to explain or defend their opinion.
Word Study:
- There is no word study for the next two weeks.
Parts of Speech:
- We will be focusing on verbs and practicing identifying them in sentences.
Math
- We are starting an Engage New York unit, which will cover multi-digit addition and subtraction. In this unit, we will cover a variety of strategies to perform these problems (one of the strategies is the traditional algorithm). This week we will be working on the Arrow Way.
- The Arrow Way breaks apart numbers into tens and ones so it is easier to add numbers. For example, 25 + 32 = 57. Using the Arrow Way would be like this:
- Begin with 25 and break 32 into 3 tens and 2 ones
- 25 + 10 = 35 +10 = 45 + 10 = 55 + 1 = 56 +1 = 57
- While this may seem like it takes longer or is more difficult, it helps the students develop a better understanding of how to get to the sum. It is also a great strategy for doing mental math.
- Homework this week will focus on fluency.
Expedition
- Each student has selected a letter for our Community ABC Book. They will start writing about a word that begins with their chosen letter. This week we will only be working on the draft and carefully editing. Next week, I am hoping to begin typing and illustrating the book.
Creating Green Bluff timelines on the iPads.
Preparing for the Veteran's Day Assembly.
Working on writing!
Upcoming Dates
- November 18th-25th: Early Release for Conferences
- November 26th-27th: Thanksgiving Break