November 9, 2009
Important Dates:
November 2-20: Laura will complete her solo-teaching.
November 13: All five book bingo summaries are due.
November 23: Items for Stone Soup need to be brought
November 24: Stone Soup with family; 12:00-12:45
November 25-27: No school: Thanksgiving Break
Writing: I use the Six Traits of Writing to help students develop their writing skills.
The students have viewed an old episode of Dragnet and talked about the voice of Joe Friday. Laura
then read a children's book in the voice of Joe Friday. This week they will work on the the prewrite
and begin writing a mystery in the voice of Joe Friday.
Reading: Balanced Literacy is used to help student progress in reading. I
will work in small groups with struggling readers.
Students will continue to meet in their book groups. Students have divided
their books into 4 sections. Students will read each section, complete 4
assignments, and then meet back in their book groups to have a discussion. As students finish their
Literature Circles. They will then complete activity focusing on "character" based on the main
character(s) in their book.
Spelling: I use Rebecca Sitton's Spelling program, it helps students learn
to spell for their writing and not just for a Friday spelling test.
The words that they spelled wrong or used incorrectly on their closed word story test are now their
spelling words. Students need to study and practice their words on a daily basis for their words may
not be recycled for another week or two.
Math:Monte Vista implements Investigations.
Students will begin working on Unit 3, which covers place value, addition, and subtraction. Students
worked on filling out a 10,000 chart and how to use the chart to help them add and subtract.
Science: Students do not have science for the next 6 weeks. They will return
to my class on November 16.
Social Studies: Students are reviewing mapping skills and will study the
Explorers.
