EPIC HOUSE JANUARY NEWS
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We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the opportunity to work with your incredible children. It is hard to believe that it is already time for Winter break! We have seen the students grow so much and we are so proud of their achievements. We wish each of you a warm, safe and blessed holiday and we look forward to the students coming back refreshed and ready to continue to work hard to be prepared for sixth grade! Here is an update on what we have been working on in December. As always, please email or call us with any questions!
What have we been up to?
Reading: In reading, students have just finished a unit on comparing and contrasting various story types. We focused on comparing genres, setting, plot, resolution, conflict, and characters. We also completed instruction on the comprehension strategy of self correction where students focused on thinking about what they were reading and remembering to go back and reread if the sentence does not make sense. Most students finished their guided reading book and have completed an iMovie that will be presented to the class on 12/20/13. The students loved this activity and it promoted collaboration, critical thinking skills, along with writing skills. Students will be starting a new chapter book after Winter break.
Word Work: I just completed re-assessing the students on word work or spelling. Over the break, I will be regrouping the students based on their spelling needs and we will resume with word work when we return.
Writing: In writing we have spent a lot of time exploring transitional words that indicate contrast or addition. These are words like: nevertheless, however, and although. Following winter break students will begin writing an informative piece of writing. They will be able to choose a science or social studies topic.
Social Studies: We completed our unit on Colonization and have moved into our unit on the Revolutionary War. We have covered the events that led up to the war and after Winter break will be starting to cover the actual war in more detail. Students will learn about the motivations behind the war, major events, and important people that impacted the war.
Science: We have started our Matter Unit. We have done a few fun experiments to help us understand the different states of matter. We went on a virtual field trip with an instructor from the Fort Worth Museum in Texas. It was very cool!!! She used dry ice and liquid nitrogen to show the students some very interesting things about matter. The kids LOVED it!! Following winter break, we will spend some time learning about how matter changes from one form into another. We will also start learning about the periodic table and the different elements.
Achieve 3000: This past month students focused on reading non-fiction articles related to the Revolutionary War, Matter, and holidays celebrated throughout the world in order to increase each student’s global awareness.
Math 6th hour: We finished up the first part of unit 3. Students were assessed on multiplying fractions and predicting how a product will compare to the factor. We then took a bit of a break from our math book to work on a fun project. The students worked in groups to write their own story problems. I then took the story problems and separated them by their difficulty. I also gave each story problem a "value". The problems were worth white circles, brown strips of paper, colored strips of paper or embellishments (buttons, feathers, stickers, etc.). The next day, the students worked with their partners to solve the problems in order to earn materials to make a winter picture. If the group solved a problem correctly, they would earn whatever the problem was worth. It was a lot of fun! It was great to see the kids working in small groups. They had to really work together to not only solve the problems, but also to create a picture. They did great!
Following winter break, we will tackle dividing fractions.
Don't forget to be checking out the Schoology site if your child needs any homework help.
Math 1st hour: After finishing up Unit 4, we took a bit of a break from our math book to work on a fun project. The students worked in groups to write their own story problems. I then took the story problems and separated them by their difficulty. I also gave each story problem a "value". The problems were worth white circles, brown strips of paper, colored strips of paper or embellishments (buttons, feathers, stickers, etc.). The next day, the students worked with their partners to solve the problems in order to earn materials to make a winter picture. If the group solved a problem correctly, they would earn whatever the problem was worth. It was a lot of fun! It was great to see the kids working in small groups. Some of the story problems they were working on were REALLY tough! They persevered through and came up with some great pictures! They did great!
We have started Unit 5 which is on long division with whole numbers and decimals.
Math Story Problem Projects:
Upcoming Events/Reminders:
Winter MAP testing is coming up right after Winter break. Please help your child be well rested and have a good breakfast on the days of the test. They also may bring in two good snacks on the days of the test.
Winter Reading MAP Testing: Monday January 6, 2014 (Afternoon)
Winter Math MAP Testing: Tuesday, January 7, 2014 (Morning)
Check School Supplies:
Please update your supplies over the holiday break. So many students are short of pencils, pencil top erasers, red marking pens, and many binders are looking very shabby. Let’s start January off with some fresh new supplies!
EPIC Teacher's Wish List
*We would love any donations of candy for our classrooms. It is amazing what our students will do for a Jolly Rancher or a Starburst!! Any kind of candy would be wonderful.
*Our classrooms supply of hand sanitizer is getting low. If you would be interested in donating hand sanitizer to our classrooms please send it to school with your child.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!