What's Happening in Room 30......

Important Announcements:

• Parent-Teacher conferences are Monday and Wednesday of this week!  I am looking forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress.  I sent an e-mail home earlier this week confirming our scheduled conference time.  We have a 15 minute time slot for each conference.  I just ask you to please arrive on time, and I will do my best to keep conferences on time, as well. 

• This week is Red Ribbon Week!   Our theme this year is YOLO: You Only Live Once... Be Drug FREE!

• Scholastic Book Fair is at Crestwood this week!  The students will preview the books on Monday and will be able to purchase Tuesday - Thursday.  The fair will also be open during conferences for you to stop in!

Dates to Remember:  

Monday:  Wear Red
Tuesday:  Drugs and I Don't Mix - Wear Mismatched Clothes
Wednesday:  Team Up Against Drugs - Wear Your Favorite Team Shirt
Thursday:  Make Healthy Choices Day
Friday:  Super Hero Day - Dress Like Your Favorite Super Hero
Sunday:  Crestwood's Trunk or Treat - flyer went home last week

What's Happening in Our Room....

Reading Workshop: 

• We will finish reading Tiger Rising this week.  The students will focus on discussing traits of the main characters and how the characters have changed throughout the book.  We will also discuss the theme of the story.
• The students are setting new reading goals this week.  They will be centering their 1st goal on either fluency, comprehension or their reading life.

Writer's Workshop:

• The students will be given a new list of spelling words on Monday.  They write their words in their planner on Tuesday and will be tested on Friday, November 4th.  
• We will begin our new unit this week!  The students will be learning how to write a 5 paragraph essay.  They will begin this week with studying student written essays.  Then they will participate in writing a class essay.  Next week, the students will write an essay on their own.  Our final writing piece will be a persuasive essay. I love teaching this unit because the students are very hesitant about writing a 5 paragraph essay.  After taking them through the process, they are amazed at how quickly they can write an essay when they follow a specific format and set up their thoughts before they begin.

Math:

• The students have been learning how to multiply 2 digit numbers by 1 - digit.  They have also been solving problems using the Area Model. This method allows the students to see the problems visually. I was not not taught this method in school, but I wish I was because it helps make sense of multiplication.  They will be teaching you this method very soon!

Science:

• The students will learn about the effects of Plate Tectonics shifting. They will demonstrate these actions using graham crackers and cool whip this week.

Social Studies:

• The students are learning about Missouri Native Americans.