McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin

for the week of February 29, 2016

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

Monday, March 7th - Weekly reading logs due / Bring in poster boards (see theme)

Tuesday, March 8th - Home link due

Wednesday, March 9th - Early Release Wednesday

Thursday, March 10th -  Spelling due / ABL

Friday, March 11th - Home link due / Third States Quiz (40)

On Thursday, you should have received an email to sign up for spring conferences.  Please make sure you go to PTCfast.com and select a time to meet with the three of us.  You’ll need to read the original email for the code to enter.  We look forward to seeing you!

On Tuesday, March 8th, the Greely Color Guard will be having a fundraiser at Ricetta’s.  Anyone presenting one of our coupons for dine in or carry out will have 10% of their bill donated to the group.  If you’re interested in attending, please email Mrs. Begley directly for a coupon.

Academic Updates:

Reading Workshop

This week we focused our historical fiction work on some specific reading skills: envisioning, empathizing, and identifying possible themes of a story.  The kids are doing much more writing about their reading, and they are pulling in all kinds of strategies from their work on literary essays!  Next week, we will build background knowledge on the era of immigration through Ellis Island.  Some kids have already started sharing about their heritage and ancestors.  This is a great topic of conversation for the dinner table!

Writing Workshop

Well...we worked very hard, very deliberately on crafting high quality thesis statements this week.  It took a long time, but we got there!  We really had to back up and think about what a thesis statement is (an idea the reader generates when s/he reads carefully and deeply) and what a thesis statement is not (a fact or an idea the author shares with us).  Then, we evaluated sentences based on those definitions and also on criteria we’ve used in the past to determine which sentences make good thesis statements.

Kids worked in groups depending on which story they chose to write their essays about.  They used a talking piece (a la ABL) to take turns to share and give each other feedback, and then each partnership decided on a thesis statement.  Today, we worked on the supporting ideas, and next week we will write supporting idea paragraphs!

Math

In math this week students learned to add unlike fractions with denominators of 10 and 100, subtract fractions with like denominators, subtract mixed numbers and create line plots to represent a set of collected data.

Spelling

This week students practiced spelling words with consonant blends and reviewed irregular past tense verbs.  We also practiced adding the suffix -ing to words ending in y and final e.

Theme

This week students selected a state to study and began to research a variety of information, like geography, climate, attractions, and products.  Students will be turning the notes into paragraphs, which will be a part of their final product.  The overwhelming majority of students wanted to create posters (though a few have selected to make Jacob’s Ladders and brochures).  Please check in with your child this weekend and ask what s/he is making for a final product.  If making a poster, your child will need to bring a blank poster board to school by Tuesday, 3/8.  Next week I will be conducting workshops in how to plan, create, and display information in an organized and visually-pleasing manner.

    Please remember to keep studying the states!  Next week’s goal is 40 states.