Happy Monday! Homework this week is normal! Students should come prepared to share what they are reading at home on their assigned day, 8 lessons of Dreambox and lesson 7 vocabulary packet. Podiatry Island was due today. I had several students who did not turn it in so please check in with your child. The geographical terms picture dictionary is due this Wednesday.
I am using Canvas, which some families may be familiar with if they have a middle or high school student. I will only be using Canvas for the calendar. I will be posting assignment due dates on the Canvas calendar and attaching a copy of the assignment. This is helpful for students who may be absent to see if they missed a new homework assignment, or for students who misplace their work. My hope is that this will help students get their work turned in on time. You can access Canvas as a parent! Click here.
Math: We have been working on understanding fractions and what the represent. Prior to this week we were working on equivalent fractions and changing improper fractions into mixed numbers. We will continue this work and also begin to focus on adding and subtracting fractions. Students have been assigned specific lessons in Dreambox that relate to these topics. I told students to work on these lessons, however if they get stuck and are unable to make progress after 15 minutes, they can move on and I will look at the assignment with them the following day.
Writing: Last week we launched our opinion writing unit. Our first topic that we are researching is whether or not chocolate milk should be an option in schools. Students have spent the last week as a neutral investigator, looking for evidence to support both sides of the argument. We are continuing to do research this week. By the end of the week, students will decide which side of the argument they want to write about and will begin organizing their supporting evidence.
Reading: This week we will be launching our argument and advocacy unit. This unit works well with our opinion writing unit because it teaches students how to research both sides of an argument and suspend . The unit will focus on investigating different issues, constructing new ideas and asking questions. Students will also learn to study the perspective of authors in order to determine how credible their resources are and consider the bias authors may have when writing a persuasive article.
Social Studies: Students are learning about landforms, and important geographical terms. This information helps to set up our upcoming unit on colonies. We will begin this unit on January 23rd. I will send out more information on our colonies unit next week.
Please email me if you have any questions! Victoria Fennell
Dates to Know
1/17 Bingo Night 1/21 No School (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) 1/22 Croc Crew Applications Due 1/28 No School (Grading Day)