The Sneak Peek
Sept. 15th, 2019
Good Morning Families,
What a great week of school! It was wonderful to continue to build relationships and get to know your child. Please see below information for more information about what is happening in the classroom and school!
Reading
This week in reading students set up vocabulary logs where they will be recording academic and topical vocabulary throughout the year. Students also learned how to write a short constructed response by using the following strategies: writing in complete sentences, underlining all the parts that the question is asking, looking for plurals, like in details, and understanding the question is asking for them to give more than one, and making sure to answer all parts of the question (parts that were underlined). Students also participated in their first research reading discussion group. Students discussed the things they liked about their research reading books and one thing that was challenging for them, as readers, when reading their research reading book. We also continued to practice with determining the GIST (summary) of Nasreen’s Secret School by using the strategy Someone, In, Wanted, But, So. And we continued discussing how we determine the central message, lesson, or moral of this story. And identified challenges the main character faced and how she overcame those challenges
Math
This week our mathematicians continued to work on multiplication. We practiced all the strategies we learned last week and many students started to figure out which strategy worked best for them. We also began division this week. The kids learned that division is simply sharing a number equally amongst groups. We explored strategies such equal groups, repeated subtraction, skip counting and arrays. We talked about how division and multiplication are related and form fact families. If you know your multiplication facts fluently, your division facts can be learned in a snap! We wrapped up Topic 1 by working with multiplication and division word problems. We discussed how you can determine which operation is appropriate to use in a word problem. Next week we will have the Topic 1 gallery walk on Monday to help us prepare for the Topic 1 assessment on Tuesday. The Topic 1 test review came home in your child’s take home folder on Wednesday. The practice test mirrors the assessment they will take on Tuesday. If your child can successfully complete the practice test they should be well prepared for the assessment. Please have your child complete the practice assessment at home and go over it with them. Please sign and return the practice test by Tuesday, September 17th. If you have any questions please let me know! Wednesday we will begin Topic 2, Multiplication Facts: Use Patterns. In Topic 1 the students focused on HOW multiplication and division worked (repeated addition and subtraction). In Topic 2 we will focus on the patterns in the multiplication chart and how we can learn our facts faster and easier. We will focus on one or two factors at a time in Topic 2. Now is a great time to start practicing multiplication facts at home. Flash cards are a great way to start, focusing on one factor at a time (learning all the 1 facts, then 2 facts and so on). Practicing facts in the car on your way to and from school or after school activities is another great time to practice. The quicker your child memorizes their facts, the easier the other math concepts we work on will come. As always, your support from home is greatly appreciated.
Class information
Fall Picture Day
This is a pre-purchase event. Flyers will be sent home to today in Friday Folders. All students will have their pictures taken whether a purchase is made or not. These photos will be used as the yearbook pictures.
Register to be a CMS Volunteer
If you are interested in volunteering in the classroom or on field trips at all this year, please go ahead and register to be a CMS volunteer by following the below step:
- CMS Website
- Departments drop down menu
- Community Partnerships and family engagement
- Volunteer link on bottom
- There will be a link to click to be a CMS volunteer
School Information:
9/18: Dollar Day: Flip Flop
9/24: Tenders Night Out
For the classroom
We are in need of candy and treasure box items for the classroom. On Fridays children cash in their the tickets they have earned for awesome goodies!