Snow Expectations

Please review these snow/ winter expectations with your child.  Students go outside when it is below 10 degrees or below 0 degrees windchill.

·     Wear Boots, snow pants, jackets, mittens/gloves, and hats.

·     If winter gear is forgotten, stay on the blacktop and stay clear of deep snow.

·     Leave snow on the ground.

·     Slide down the hill on your bottom. 

·     Snow can be used to build snowmen and snow forts.

·     Be respectful of snow forts and snowmen already built!

·     Walk around the ice – It will be slippery!

·     Finish all reports with the adult on duty.

·     Change your play according to the weather.

·     Keep your hands and feet to yourself.

·     Use equipment and materials as taught in Recess Rodeo.

·     Play games and display good sportsmanship.

·     Take care of equipment and property.

·     Use kind words.

·     Follow the adult's directions.

Fairy Tales

In Anthology, the theme is "That's Amazing."  We are studying different forms of "amazing stories."  In the first story, we are learning about fairy tales.  You can tell your child about different fairy tales you know.
¨Are a kind of FOLKTALE

¨Tale includes the use of magic.

¨Might include: fairies, giants, and impossible tasks

¨At the end, everyone “lives happily ever after.”

Chris Van Allsburg

Chris Van Allsburg is the author or our current Anthology story, The Stranger.  He has written several well-known books.  Some examples are shown below.  You could check some of these out and read them with your child to do some comparing/contrasting between his different works.

How many parents are reading the blog?

Students have the opportunity to visit our blog during classtime, but my main purpose in creating it was for parent communication.  I'm curious to see how many parents are reading the blog on a regular basis.  If you are a parent of a student in my classroom and you read this, could you send me a quick email letting me know?   afreiberg@marshalltown.k12.ia.us

Anthology Vocabulary

The following are the vocabulary words and definitions for the current Anthology story, The Stranger, by Chris Van Allsburg.  Also listed is the context in which the word is used in the story.  We will start doing vocabulary quizzes for every story to see if your child is learning the words.  You can help them at home by reading a definition and asking for the word, or vice versa.

 

 

Key Vocabulary	Definition	Sentence
Autumn (p.312)	The season after summer	Not long ago it seemed that autumn was just around the corner.
Draft (p.308)	a flow of air	“There’s a draft in here tonight.”
Etched (p.316)	Made a design by cutting lines	And etched in frost on the farmhouse windows are words that say simple, “See you next fall.”
Frost (p.316)	Very thin covering of ice	And etched in frost on the farmhouse windows are words that say simple, “See you next fall.”
Mercury (p.306)	Silvery white metal used in thermometers	“It’s broken, the mercury is stuck at the bottom.”
Peculiar (p.312)	Unusual, strange, or odd	Farmer Bailey could not help noticing how peculiar the weather had been.
Thermometer (p.306)	An instrument that measures temperature	He’d forgotten his thermometer.
Timid (p.312)	Easily frightened; shy	Day by day he’d grown less timid.

Parent Resource Center

The Fisher Parent Resource Center is located in the Media Center at Fisher Elementary. Parents can find many resources including children’s books, computers, parent magazines, and board games. These items can be used here at school or can be checked out to use at home. Parents can visit the Fisher Parent Resource Center from 5:30 – 7:30 on the second Tuesday of each month.  I hope you/ your family can take advantage of this new resource!

Spelling

Most weeks, students are receiving a spelling list.  We discuss the meanings of the words at the beginning of the week and test at the end of the week.  I usually assign ABC spelling in cursive as homework on Mondays and a practice spelling test at home the night before we test at school.  Students also have an opportunity to practice these words during their Guided Reading independent times.  When students are practicing the words at home, please make sure they are also understanding the meanings/ definitions of the words.  

New Social Studies Unit

          Students will be starting a new Social Studies unit today with Ms. Christensen.  They will be focusing on the Southwest Region of the United States.  Unit Summary:

          The four states of the Southwest are characterized by landscapes of plains, deserts, and canyons.  The Pueblo Native Americans were the first people to call the region home and later Spanish conquistadors colonized the area.  People of the eastern United States finally settled in the region.  The region today boasts trade and high-technology industries as well as the oil and ranching industries.

Rocket Math

This is a reminder that your child should be frequently practicing basic facts flash cards at home.  We do not spend a lot of instructional time at school learning basic facts as they should be acquired over the elementary years.  We are, however, continuing Rocket Math.  I believe that basic facts should be automatic, not require thinking to figure them out.  Rocket Math has the same goals.  We have started using study sheets to practice for a couple minutes before taking the test every day.  With this, there are several students that are still struggling to pass the tests, even at the addition level.  Please make this a priority with your child!!

Math Topic 7

Our current math unit is called "Multiplying by 2-Digit Numbers.  The lessons are as follows:

1. Using Mental Math to Multiply 2-Digit Numbers
2. Estimating Products
3. Arrays and an Expanded Algorithm
4. Multiplying 2-Digit Numbers by Multiples of Ten
5. Multiplying 2-Digit by 2-Digit Numbers
6. Special Cases
7. Problem Solving: Two-Question Problems

Vocabulary we are reviewing is: array, compatible numbers, estimate, multiple, partial products, and rounding.
We will be learning the standard algorithm for how to solve a 2-digit by 2-digit problem.  This is much like many of you (parents) learned how to solve a problem when you were in school.  Please make sure your child is doing their homework every night and encourage them to ask questions when they don't understand.

Question Strategy

         A reading strategy that has been discussed in Guided Reading and will be reviewed today in Anthology is "Question."  Good readers will ask questions as they read about the characters, their feelings, events, author's purpose, etc.  A good question is not one that we already know the answer to or is unrelated to the plot of the story.  For example, "What color shirt will Karen wear to the dance?" is an unimportant question to helping us understand and remember a story.  "Will Mama make it safely back to the house?" would be a good question because the reader then wants to continue reading to find out the answer.  It's important to review the questions to see if they were answered. 
          You can ask your child what questions they have about their Guided Reading book or the Anthology story, A Very Important Day.  Were their questions answered? :)

Scholastic News

Students will be reading a Scholastic News magazine today.  The headlines that you can ask your child about are:

• No Toy Story
• Roman Ruin
• Jet Man's Newest Stunt
• When Dad's At War
• 2010 The Year in Review
• The Crossing
• A Rough Road for Wildebeests

Writing- Receiver of the Action

In Writing, we learned about predicate expanders that carry an action to a receiver.  There is a special way to diagram these.  When there is a receiver of an action, there is something that is answering the questions "whom" or "what" receives the action.  You can ask your child how to diagram the following sentences that include this special part of a sentence.

• The principal praised Mrs. Field's class of sixth grade students.
• Jack ate chocolate donuts.
• The scouts sell three kinds of delicious cookies.
• The children feed the ducks
• The students visited the airport.

Anthology vocabulary words

Key Vocabulary	Definition	Sentence
Allegiance p.264	Loyalty to one’s country or a person	Everyone then rose and joined the judge in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chamber p. 262	A meeting room used by lawmakers	“Let’s fine the chamber.  It’s on this floor.”
Citizens p.264	Official members of a country	“Two hundred nineteen of you from 32 countries have become US citizens here today.”
Citizenship p.264	The status of a citizen with accompanying rights, duties, and privileges	“… these petitioners have qualified for citizenship in the USA.”
Enrich p. 264	To improve the quality of	“May citizenship enrich your lives as your lives enrich this country.”
Examiner p.263	An official who inspects or asks questions	Soon the examiner appeared, and the room became quiet.
Oath p.264	A pledge or promise to act a certain way	“will you repeat after me the oath of citizenship.”
Petitioners p. 264	People who ask for something in writing	“… these petitioners have qualified for citizenship in the USA.”

These are for the story A Very Important Day.