Stories, Strategies, "Spec", and Silly Cats

Welcome back to another blog that should last you for the next few weeks!  This week is a short one (Early Dismissal on Wednesday and No School on Friday), but we will still continue to work like crazy!  Here's what's going on this (and next) week in Room 32:

Math

Last week we finished up Module 1 and showed our understanding amazingly on our end-of-Module Assessment.  This will go home this week on Thursday.  Keep in mind that this assessment is not graded for an actual report card grade, but rather for the students (and myself) to monitor their growth from the beginning of the Module.  We earned an extra recess for all achieving our growth goals!

This week we delve into multi-digit multiplication strategies!  That's right...more MULTIPLICATION!  Although I will teach MANY strategies, I always tell the students, "Use whatever strategy you want, except for looking at someone else's paper!"  This week's homework links are right here:

• Monday - Lesson 1
• Tuesday - Lesson 2
• Wednesday - Quiz (no lesson)
• Thursday - Lesson 3

Science

This week we will wrap-up our Food Chain Mystery Science unit with experimenting with some pond water, finding out why ponds don't need filters, and writing a first-"person" account of a predators hunting experience.  This narrative writing piece will give the kids an opportunity to show off all that they have learned about the food chain, research a predator, and creatively write from the point-of-view of an animal!

Language Arts

Word Study

For the past 2 weeks we have focused on words derived  from the root "spec".  Look for at-home lists and study opportunities throughout the week.  The quiz will be on Thursday.

Writing

As an amazingly-planned cross-over between Science and Language Arts, this week's writing focus will be informational writing in a first-person point-of-view narrative (mentioned in the Science section above).  Additionally, we will be writing an expository piece about the "value" of video games, and a character analysis from our class novel.

Reading Comprehension

Although much of our time this week will revolve around our writing and research, I need to mention our new class novel, Crenshaw.  This amazing novel tells the story of a 5th grader that navigates his conflicts with the support of his imaginary friend.  Each student has a book for class, and EVERYTHING we focus on during our Fiction unit will revolve around our novel.

Have a great week!  If you don't already, follow us on Twitter to all the amazing things going on in Room 32 every day!