McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin

for the week of November 10, 2014

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Reading Workshop

High praise to readers rising to the occasion of increased at-home reading time!  The more we read, the stronger readers we become!

     We’re putting our reading of The Fourteenth Goldfish into high gear!  More and more children are finding signposts in their independent reading, noting and thinking about Memory Moments, Aha! Moments, and things that are mentioned Again and Again.  I’m thrilled with that growth!  Not all students are there yet (“My character doesn’t realize anything,” “There are no memories in my story.”). We’re all making progress at different paces.

Writing Workshop

Two flash-drafts are almost complete!  This week we focused on introductions and conclusions for both drafts, along with writing supporting idea paragraphs for an independent essay.  Any students who wish to have more support are sharing my thesis statement, “We should have more recess time in school.”  Next week, we’ll finish up both drafts, and students will choose one to revise and edit for a final draft before Thanksgiving (fingers crossed!).

Math

This week we spent more time understanding the difference between the term multiples and factors, as these two concepts seem to be confuse many students. We also applied multiplication to real life problem solving when we calculated distances between major cities of the world using a globe and the scale of 1” = 660 miles. I heard many students comment that this was a fun project. 

     Students are beginning to notice some real gains in their multiplication fact check-ins. This is the second week that students have been tracking their own scores using a line graph and the excitement and satisfaction of seeing their own progress is truly rewarding. Keep up the good work of practicing at home as it is paying off big here at school!

Spelling

This week we focused on when apostrophes are used in spelling - for contractions (our major focus) and for showing possession (something we just touched on and will continue to explore later).  We also had a chance to look at some “olde English” contractions in conjunction with our theme study, such as ‘twas and ‘twill.

Theme

This week we started the Pilgrim simulation.  On Monday, students formed colonies, selected a name, and created their ship’s roster.  After learning how to craft quality journal entries from the perspective of a Pilgrim, we were off on our adventure!  Thursday, students sat in 6ft X 3ft “boats” for the long journey across the sea, using their knowledge of the Mayflower to speed up their trip.  Friday, students elected leaders and created a “Mayflower Compact” of their own which outlines everyone’s responsibilities.  Next week we will build houses, plant food, and try to make a peace treaty with the local tribes.

     In take home folders you will see the practice journal entry students completed on Wednesday.  Students self graded their first attempt using the rubric, so that they would be clear about the criteria for an exceeds, meets, etc. 

Welcome, Winter!

The tarred part of the playground will be plowed.  If students wish to play in any non-plowed areas on the playground (ball field, grass, playground equipment), they must wear boots and snow pants when there is snow on the ground.  Boots, snow pants, gloves…  It’s all going into the lockers.  My recommendation is that kids bring in a hand towel to line the bottom of the locker to absorb moisture from wet boots (did someone say, “Type A”?).  Boots are not welcome in the classroom, since we do so much moving around and working on the floor during various parts of the day — and who wants to sit in a puddle?  So please make sure your child brings a pair of indoor shoes every day.  In fact, your child is welcome to leave a pair in the locker for the season.

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

Monday, November 17th - Reading logs due / Swimming

 Tuesday, November 18th - Study link due / Box tops collected

Wednesday, November 19th - Early Release / Math box catch up

Thursday, November 20th - Spelling due 

Friday, November 21st - Study link due 

Box tops will be collected on Tuesday.  Please send in any that you have saved at home.

The GMS “Fill a Bus, Fill a Belly” Food Drive is happening all next week.  There will be a bus (with the seats removed!) parked along the MIW ballfield accepting donations at arrival & dismissal for both grade spans.  On Friday night, there is an ice cream social in the GMS Cafe to celebrate the community effort.  On Saturday morning, the bus will be driven to the Food Pantry to fill their shelves!  A flyer is in take home folders today that outlines some of the nonperishable items they are looking for.  

Have a great weekend!

Dena