"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon."
-E.M. Forster
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Dear Parents,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's December already. I am looking
forward to seeing you next week at conference time. I told the children their conference times and had
them write them in their agendas. I will also be posting the times outside my room this week. If you're
not sure what time you're scheduled for please email me and I'll be happy to let you know.
In math we are continuing our work with products and factors. I have noticed some improvement in the
children's grasp of multiplication facts! (The timed tests are helping.) This week we worked with prime
factors, exponents, and multiplication word problems. There will be a test on unit 4 next Wednesday;
we'll be doing a review in class on Friday which the children will take home to study.
In writing, the children finished their book reviews and they came out great. They are posted on the
bulletin board outside the classroom; please read them when you come for your conference next week.
We have been studying nouns this week and there will be a noun quiz tomorrow. The content will be:
identifying common and proper nouns, and spelling the plural forms of nouns.
This week the children read Tomas and the Library Lady, a story about a migrant working family. While
reading, we practiced various comprehension strategies. I am also meeting with everyone to discuss
their reader's notebook grades. A reminder that your child should be reading at least 30 minutes a
night independently; this is one of the most valuable thing your child does as homework. Finally, we
finished reading My Side of the Mountain as a read-aloud book and will be watching the movie this
afternoon, and comparing the two versions. Our next read-aloud will be Pippi Longstocking -- one of
my all-time favorites!
In science we have been doing lots of hands-on experiments as we explore the mechanical advantage
gained by levers.
That's it for now; see you next week!!!!