Classroom Snapshot for January

January certainly has been a busy month, but quite a packed full learning month for us! We hope that you can join us for Westgate's Open House on Thursday, February 2nd. The main doors will open up at 6:30 pm so that you can purchase books from the Book Fair. Also, be sure to stop by the Commons to sign-up for Spring Conferences with me. Our classroom will be open at 7:00 pm to share all that we have been learning since we've been back from Winter Break.

In the meantime, here's what was been happening in our classroom throughout the month of January:

Reading:

Throughout the conclusion of Unit 3 of Treasures, the students have been working on the comprehension strategies of discovering the plot and setting of a story. We also have been reading non-fiction stories to determine the cause/effect of situations and events. Throughout vocabulary time, the students have been working with multiple-meaning words and determining the correct definition to go with each word.

Your child can click on the following links for additional activities with some of the stories we read together in January:

• One Riddle, One Answer
• Saving the Sand Dunes

This month, all students started a new novel and are having fun participating in Literature Circles. During Lit. Circle time, each student put into a novel group suitable to their guided reading level. Independently, your child is assigned a chapter to read in their novel. Afterwards, each member of the group is assigned a particular job to perform that goes along with their reading. Our Lit. Circle jobs entail either being the Imaginative Illustrator, Story Summarizer, Bridge Builder, Word Watcher, or Question Creator. After their job is complete, the group gathers together to discuss the chapter they have read and their findings. Each day, the job role rotates so that you do not have the same one to perform as the day before.

Simultaneously, I am pulling individuals and groups to the back table to work on comprehension and test taking skills in preparation for our ISAT Test in March. In addition, I am going to be working with small groups working on extended responses to small passages that we read so that they will be ready and comfortable with this portion of the ISAT exam.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have also been assessing your students with their fluency (CBM Testing). From the results of my screening, I will be setting a new goal in their fluency folders for how many words per minute I would like them to read. We will continue to work on fluency and test each other with our fluency partners throughout the rest of the year.

Our class had a blast sharing their Cereal Box Book report! Wow! They were so impressive! The kids really worked hard on their boxes and we had so much fun listening to their cereal commercial too. I was able to videotape their commercials and the students are going to try and edit them in iMovie next week. We will be showing off our boxes and commercials next week to you at Open House. So much fun!

In February, the students will be taking a field trip the Metropolis Theatre to see "Frindle". Together, we have been having fun reading the book during read aloud time to get ready for the show!

Grammar:

Over the past month, the students have continued to work and review how to properly utilize action, present-tense, past-tense, and future tense verbs. We also have been practicing how to use commas correctly in a list or series of events.

During Daily 5 time, the students had fun practicing these skills with the following web pages. Click on these links to view and play the web site games at home:

• Clean Up Your Grammar
• Batter Up

Writing:

The students are really enjoying Unit 2 in our WEX Writing Program entitled "Response to Literature". At the beginning of the unit, together we read the book called Stuart Little. Now we are taking excerpts from the book and learning how to describe and write about the character traits of the main characters. We are also having fun writing about particular moments in time that the characters have had to endure and comparing them to our own personal lives and situations. Throughout the lessons, the students continue to learn how to utilize the concepts of focus, details, and sentence mechanics to enhance their journal entries.

Math:

Our class will be completing Unit 5 in math this week. Throughout the unit, the students have been working hard learning about place value in whole numbers and decimals. Together, we learned about place value through the ten-thousands, millions, tenths, and hundredths place. We also have been working with data to determine and learn how to read place value in decimal notation and with money.

Social Studies:

Last week our class was able to conclude our unit of Maps and Landmarks. Throughout the unit, the students learned about directions, how to read a map key, the equator, the Prime Meridian, all of the hemispheres, the finding the continents and oceans on a map.

We will continue to have the students memorize the placement of the 50 states on the map. Every two weeks the students will bring home a sheet and asked to memorize where the states are located for a specific region of the USA. Our next quiz is over the Western States on Feb. 2nd. The students should have brought home their study sheet on Tuesday to practice.

Science:

The students are excited to start a new Space Unit for Science. Throughout the next couple of weeks we will be discussing the moon and its cycle. We will also be exploring the sun and discussing the causes of daytime, nighttime, and the seasons. Additionally, we will be discussing about the Earth and it's rotation over the next few weeks.

A BIG THANK YOU goes to all of our parent classroom volunteers:

We certainly appreciate Mrs. Klapprodt for conducting a wondering Art Appreciation Lesson on Roman Architecture. The students had fun making Roman aquaducts.

We would like to thank Mr. Nesbitt, Mrs. Moran, Mrs. Bolithon, Mrs. Grant O'Hara, and Mrs. Jones for coming in to assist with our Reader's Theater groups in January!

I certainly appreciate Mr. Nesbitt, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Collins, and Mrs. Lennon for coming in to make copies for our class too. We greatly appreciate your time!

Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you next Thursday at Open House!

The Snow is Coming

Hi Parents,

So it looks like the weather forecaster predictions are correct. The snow looks like it's really coming!

I just wanted to remind you that students still will be going outside during recess time even if there's snow on the ground. (The only time that we stay indoors is if the windchill falls below 0 degrees.).

Please remind your student to bring their boots, snow pants, warm coats, gloves, hats, etc. to school when there's snow on the ground. Please also make sure that they label every snow gear piece with their name. I also encourage the students to keep their snow gear in a separate bag from their backpack. (The recyclable grocery cloth bags are perfect for snow gear!)

Students that are wearing boots, snow pants, gloves, hat, and a coat will be allowed to play in the field in the snow during recess time. Any student that forgot to bring the above mentioned items, will have to remain on the blacktop during recess. The office will not allow students to stay inside during recess if they forgot their snow gear that day.

Thanks for reminding your student of these rules and helping me in your efforts. Have a safe drive home today and enjoy our first major snowfall!

Classroom Snapshot for December

Happy New Year and welcome back! I hope that you had wonderful, safe, and restful break with your family. I cannot wait to hear all about everyone's celebrations, vacations, and fun events.

Here's what was been happening in our classroom throughout the month of December:

Reading:

Throughout the conclusion of Unit 2 of Treasures, the students have been working on determining the author's purpose of writing a story. We have learned that generally an author writes a book to either inform, entertain, or to persuade their reader. Before break, we were able to begin Unit 3 of Treasures. Together, the students have been working with the guided reading strategy of inferencing. Thus, the students have been learning how to derive logical conclusions about what they have read based off of the clues that are given to them. Throughout vocabulary time, the students have been working with finding context clues and working with synonyms.

Your child can click on the following links for additional activities with some of the stories we read together in December:

• Author: A True Story
• Stone Soup

Students will continue to bring home their weekly reading book bags. As a reminder, their homework assignment is to reread the story at home and afterwards have an adult ask them comprehension questions about what they have read. An adult is encouraged to utilize the comprehension questions that are listed in the back of the book or they can use the "Bloom's Taxonomy" questions that are inside of their child's bag. Please remind your student that a part of their homework assignment is to remember to return their book bag to school by Friday. If they finish reading their selection early, they are welcome to turn in their bag before the end of the week. Students are aware that points will be deducted from their weekly homework reading grade if their book bag is turned in late.

Grammar:

Over the past month the students have been working with learning how to combine two sentences together that utilize the same common noun. In addition, students are currently reviewing how to properly utilize action, present-tense, past-tense, and future tense verbs.

During Daily 5 time, the students had fun practicing these skills with the following web pages. Click on these links to view and play the web site games at home:

• Noun Dunk
• Balloon Verbs

Writing:

Students just completed Unit 1 of WEX right before Winter Break. Each student selected a second personal narrative piece from their WEX binder that they wanted to revise and enhance. Throughout the writing process, tips were shown how to make their revisions better. The students continued to make sure that their piece focused on one main event, had the proper sentence mechanics, and utilized showing details, strong verbs, and sensory details. Be sure to read their final revision piece that was sent home before break.

Math:

The students just completed Unit 4 that focused on the introduction of multiplication and division facts. Throughout the unit ,the students learned about multiples of equal groups, multiplication arrays, division ties to multiplication, and multiplication and division fact families.

Throughout the week leading up to break, the students also had a fun time becoming architects. Each student was asked to design several rooms or areas that they would want to have in a home. Through their designs, the students learned how to calculate how much the area and perimeter of their designed rooms would cost to build. Monetary values were assigned for the square footage and length of the areas and perimeters. In addition, they also had to figure in the cost of adding doors, windows, fences, etc. Through the process, we certainly realized how much money, time, and effort goes into building homes and room additions. We certainly have quite a talented bunch of architects in our room!

Social Studies:

We're so glad that many of you were able to come to our Midwest UbD Curriculum Snapshot. In case you were not able to make it or would like to see your child's movie again, please click here to view our newscasts.

Science:

After our Midwest Unit concluded, the students further explored about the prairie in Science. Throughout the unit, the students were introduced to the plants and animals that live in the prairie. We also tested and compared different types of soil that are suitable for plants growing in the prairie. The students further explored how seeds get dispersed and the basic concept of photosynthesis. Moreover, the students discussed the various types of adaptations animals have to have in order to survive in the prairie environment. Additionally, the students learned how life in the prairie continued because of the food chain. At the end of the unit, the students learned that not much of prairie land exists today because of environmental factors as well as humans destroying the land.

The class had a great time creating and sharing their animal adaptation projects. I truly enjoyed their creativity! I was so impressed! All of these projects will be hanging in the hallway for you to enjoy viewing.

A BIG THANK YOU goes to all of our parent classroom volunteers!

All of the Intermediate Teachers and I would like to personally thank Mrs. Filippelli for taking the time out of her busy schedule for us. She took on a huge job of organizing all of the volunteers in our school and physically moving our novel room book closet from downstairs to an upstairs closet. The job was a huge undertaking and we cannot thank her enough for her time and dedication to this task!

Our class had such a blast visiting the Museum of Science and Industry! A BIG THANKS goes to Mrs. Doty, Mrs. Silvestri, Mrs. Lennon, Mrs. Bolithon, and Mrs. Skuldt for chaperoning all of our groups. What a fun day we had and it couldn't have been done without all of their help!

We would like to thank Mrs. Moran, Mrs. Silvestri, Mrs. Orlyk, Mrs. Skuldt, Mrs. Collins, and Mrs. Doty for coming in to assist with our Reader's Theater groups in December!

I certainly appreciate Mrs. Bolithon, Mrs. Barretto, Mrs. Filippelli, and Mrs. Silvestri for coming in to make copies for our class too. We greatly appreciate your time!

Thank You Mrs. Doctor!

We would like to thank Mrs. Doctor (Sadie's Grandma) for volunteering her time to come to our classroom to discuss Hanukkah traditions with the class. The students had fun learning about eight days of Hanukkah, discussing customs, and learning how to play the dreidel game. Please enjoy the pictures from the event.