Coles & Lawson Classroom News
October 14, 2016
Hello Parents!
Don't forget about i-Ready: Duval County Schools recommend 45 minutes per subject (math/reading) per week of online learning. We love that each student's lessons are selected based on their individual needs. Students have opportunities to go online during the school day (Computer Lab, centers) but we strongly encourage all students to log minutes at home. We are tracking student progress and the number of lessons and minutes completed and have incentives for those who are putting in the work.
Planners: Please check your student's planner daily. You will see their Home Learning for the evening as well as a Conduct grade for the day -- ask them about Lunch Bunch and our ticket system.
Friday Folders: Every Friday, the sign and return folders will come home. Please help your student return them promptly on Monday. In addition, you will need to sign and return any papers with a grade below 70%.
Snack: As we have a late lunch, we encourage a healthy snack in the morning. Please don't send in sweet drinks, candy or cookies. Also, we are eating at our desks with our books and materials, so nothing too messy, thanks!
Read-a-Thon: Materials are coming home today after an assembly. Please join us in celebrating reading and raising money for our school.
Picture Day is coming up Monday, October 24.
Language Arts with Ms. Lawson
Students have been learning so many new concepts in Reading! We have started researching a poet we have learned about. The students have written a poem in the same style their poet writes in (using the same poetry characteristics) and will soon research that poet's life. We are learning about biographies and we will soon write a biography about our poet's life.
We are planning an opinion writing piece all about sharks. The prompt that students are answering is: “Write an essay in which you give your opinion about whether sharks should be a protected marine animal.” The students have been given multiple sources and are using evidence from those texts to give their opinion and explain. They are excited about the topic and are eager to begin writing this week. :) On Tuesday, October 18 from 9:00-11:00, we will be having our baseline writing test given by the district. This writing test will let us know where the students stand in their writing abilities. Please make sure sure your child is at school on that day. Our FSA writing test will be here before you know it (February), and we are continuously digging deeper into writing.
Every Friday we will have a Wordly Wise quiz (This week it is Lesson 7). Students should be studying the vocabulary words nightly to prepare them for the assessment. They should be completing the assignments on their study sheet. Making notecards could help too! The assessments will be fill in the blank. The tests are graded like this: each question is worth 2 points, 1 point for spelling the word correctly, and 1 point for getting the word correct. Even if someone does not get the word correct, but they spell the incorrect word right, the student will still get 1 point. We do not have spelling tests, but the students are accountable for spelling the vocabulary words correctly.
Every night students should be reading to self for 30 minutes and then filling out their reading log. I collect reading logs every Friday and tally up the number of pages they have read for the week. I may also give an assignment based on a skill we have been working on in class. I do not give a written assignment every night for home learning. If an assignment is not given, the students are expected to complete one lesson on Achieve 3000. If your family does not have internet, let me know and we can figure something out. :) Achieve 3000 is very important! The students should be completing 2 activities every week. The more lessons students complete and pass, the more likely their lexile levels will go up.
Mathematics with Mrs. Coles
Look for home learning work in math every evening. Home learning is a way to practice skills independently and is not intended to be a burden.
Math for Today is now called Skills Set and is class work we do every day Monday through Friday. The students work on the problems during the morning routine and then we go over the work during the math block. On Friday, they take a test and they use their daily work to assist them.
Science with Mrs. Coles
Resource Schedule
Every Monday, we ask students to write down the Resource schedule for the week in their planners.
A. Art
B. P.E. (no PE this week, it will be Monday 24th)
C. None
D. None
E. Computer Lab
F. Music
Media Center every other week, Thursdays.