News From Room 116
January 2016
Happy New Year!
Math
In math, we continue to work with multiplication and division. We are focused on finding the area of rectangles using a tiling method (breaking the rectangle into smaller pieces), and will learn the multiplication formula for finding area, as well. We will take the end of unit assessment the week of January 18th. Students will also take a facts fluency assessment at the end of the quarter, which will be their math fluency grade on their second quarter report card.
Students are taking multiplication and/or division timed quizzes several times each week. It is very important that students practice their math facts each day at home for at least 10 minutes. There are many websites that can be used for facts practice. Other ideas for practice are: flash cards, writing facts out on paper, playing dice games for practice, even being quizzed by a parent or older sibling in the car is a great way to learn those facts!
Students have been introduced to the website www.ixl.com to help them strengthen their math skills. They are able to access this at home, as they do have their own username and password in their assignment notebooks. Below is a list of topics students should practice, as they relate to our current and past units of study.
IXL Topics:
Addition
Subtraction
Understand Multiplication
Understand Division
Estimation and Rounding (P1-P2)
Reading
In reading, we are finishing up our unit on non-fiction text. We have looked at several types of non-fiction books, and analyzed features in each. Students will be assessed on our non-fiction unit the week of January 11. This will involve reading a passage, answering multiple choice question, highlighting text evidence, and two short, written responses. Our next unit in reading will be Social Studies: Communities: Past and Present.
Please make sure your child reads every day at home for at least 20 minutes. You can view their progress toward AR goals, and see how they did on all AR tests taken at school by visiting the Murphy School website, navigating to "Students," then "Renaissance Place." You can log in with your child's username and password, which are in their assignment notebooks.
Social Studies/Science
Currently, Mrs. Van Horn's class is studying social studies, and Mrs. Rooney's class is studying Science. When the third quarter begins, this will change. From February until the end of the year, Mrs. Van Horn's homeroom will go to Mrs. Rooney's room for Science, and Mrs. Rooney's class will come to Mrs. Van Horn for social studies. This way, all students will have been taught the same content in each subject area.
In social studies, we are currently finishing up a unit on communities and their needs. We have talked about workers, and goods and services. We will also look at a community's need for leaders and discuss the difference between rules and laws.
Writing
Important Dates
Week of 1/11: STAR Reading and Math testing
Tuesday, 1/12: AIMSWEB (reading fluency) testing
Monday, 1/18: No School - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
Friday, 1/22: End of 2nd quarter
Thursday, 2/11: Dismissal at 11:40. Parent/Teacher conferences 3:00-8:00 p.m.
Friday, 2/12: No School - Parent/Teacher conferences 11:00-4:00 p.m.
Monday, 2/15: No School - President's Day
Contact
Email: vanhornk@woodridge68.org
Website: www.woodridge68.org
Phone: 630-985-3797
Twitter: @MrsVanHornClass