News You Can Use April
O'Brien/Slusher
Welcome Back!
CONTENT CORNER
In Word Study, we have been reviewing synonyms, antonyms, homophones, contractions, and context clues.
In Reading Workshop, we kicked off our Rock Star Unit as we prepare for the Reading OAA on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015. We introduced the students to our three rock stars: Rockin' Reggie, Key Word Kaycee and You've Got it Gus. These three rock stars along with our One Hit Wonders (important vocabulary words) serve as reminders to the students to use the reading strategies we have been working on throughout the school year when answering questions. Rockin' Reggie reminds the students to use the stoplight strategy to look back in the text to find evidence to support their responses. When the students are answering questions they need to be sure to support their responses with evidence from the text and not their schema. When students find the evidence in the text to support their answers they underline it so that they can easily cite the text in their response. Keyword Kaycee reminds students to look for key words that will help with understanding the question being asked. When students see key words they box these words in so that they are highlighting the words that will help them form their responses. You've Got it Gus, reminds the students to fill in graphic organizers accurately and completely. When students are filling out graphic organizers they do not need to RSQ as they want to be sure that their response fits in the space provided. We are having fun each day using the rock star strategies as we apply them to different song lyrics and released OAA practice passages.
On Monday the students brought home a released practice OAA reading passage for homework. They also brought home a letter explaining the slight change in our homework routine as we prepare for the OAA. In addition to the weekly reading passages students are still responsible for the weekly reading log. Students should continue to put forth their personal best as they complete their reading log. The skill work portion of the log is a wonderful way for students to review important skills we have learned this school year. Thank you for your continued support of our reading program at home!
In Math, our last 3 units focused on fractions, perimeter/area, and geometry. Our unit on fractions introduced some difficult skills. We will be coming back to fractions this week. Students will work on problem solving with fractions, comparing fractions, and finding equivalent fractions. During our unit on perimeter and area, students had the opportunity to create a project from a choice board menu. Some students applied their knowledge of perimeter and area to create a song or rap, design their own blueprint for a dream house, create a quiz with answer key, or draw a maze by following a set of specific rules about quadrilaterals. Students really worked hard on their projects and enjoyed sharing them with their classmates. Our exploration classes for the next few weeks will offer enrichment and reteaching opportunities to study perimeter and area. Our last 2 units for the year will focus on fractions and measurement.
In Social Studies, we have finished up our units on Economics and Cincinnati History- Change over Time. Students learned many economic terms and were able to work with classmates to create a Wally Mart business. Students really enjoyed this culminating project and some businesses even made a profit from their service. We just finished up learning about timelines and how communities change over time. We went back in Cincinnati's history and learned about the Native Americans and settlers that lived in the Cincinnati area. Students learned about clothing, homes, education, transportation, recreation, and jobs/responsibilities. We also compared how we live today to the people that have lived before us.
In Science, we will begin our last unit of study on Behavior, Growth, and Change. During this unit, the students will learn about life cycles of living things, adaptations of plants and animals, and the differences between inherited and behavioral traits of living things. We will have some critters living in our classroom (caterpillars and tadpoles) over the next few weeks. We will take care of these living things and record observations regarding their life cycles. Please keep an eye out for a paper that gives you information regarding our life cycle project. It will be sent home in the next few weeks.
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS
*Spring Picture Day- Monday, April 13, 2015
*Wednesday, April 22, 2015- Ohio Achievement Reading Assessment
*Thursday, April 23- O'Brien Homeroom- Green Acres 9-11 am
*Friday, April 24- Slusher Homeroom- Green Acres 9-11 am
SEEDS SIGHTINGS
Last week we had our third quarter recognition assembly. Students were able to nominate their classmates for showing the lifeskills of truth, trust, active listening, personal best, and put-ups. The following students were nominated for showing these lifeskills on a daily basis.
TRUTH- Tyler Howell; Michael Tranter
TRUST- Elliott Caine; Levi Reichard
ACTIVE LISTENING- Maggie Petrie; Paige Ledwin
PERSONAL BEST- Olivia Attiyah; Megan Zimmerman
PUT-UPS- Alex Castellini; Miles Taylor
CONTACT
Katie Slusher- Katie.Slusher@ih.k12.oh.us