Conference Schedule

8:00	Julia
8:15	Arielle
8:30	Nick
8:45	Tyler
9:00	Delany
9:15	Damien
10:00	Benjamin
10:30	Gabby
10:45
11:00	Emma
11:15	Josef
11:30	Kai
11:45
2:15	Bellamy
2:30	Alexa B.
2:45	Abbie
3:00
3:15
3:30	Kyler
3:45	Maliya
4:00	Hannah
4:15	Josue
4:30	Julien

Thursday April 10 Conferences

Friday April 11 8:00	Kristin
8:15	Lively
8:30	Madison
8:45	Jackson
9:00	Anders
9:15	Marianna
9:30	Madeline
9:45	Olivia
10:00	Ryan

Tuesday April 8:

8 a.m. Nishanth

Wed. April 9:

8 a.m. Parker

Tuesday April 15:

8 a.m. Maire

Welcome Back!

Welcome back--I hope your family enjoyed a good spring break.



Just a reminder of things coming up in April and May--conferences are next week on Thursday and Friday--I'll be sending home a hard copy of your conference time. Students are expected to attend.



Testing will continue with reading on April 9 and 14, and math on April 17 and 18.



We are working hard on We the People right now. More details will be forthcoming, but please add these dates to your calendars:  May 21 is our trip to Salem. May 28, in the evening, will be our hearings here at school. All students will be expected to attend (they are in teams, and every person is necessary!). Families will not want to miss it either!



Karen Stratton

Spring conferences are coming up!

Please let me know if you have a request for a particular conference time. I will hold conferences from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday April 10, and 8 a.m. to noon on Friday April 11.



If you already have a time set with another teacher, please let me know.



Thanks! Karen Stratton

Novel project with due dates

Here is the Novel Project information which I gave to the children today. The due dates are for "finals" of the various parts. We will collect those parts in school, and then put the posters together in school on March 12. Please encourage your child to keep on track so that it's not a panic when the project is due in 2 weeks.

Tiger Rising, End of Novel Study Poster assignment:

ENTIRE PROJECT IS DUE
MARCH 13. See due dates for each part. ½ hour of class time will be
provided each day, and poster boards.

These six assignments will be glued on a poster and
displayed in the hallway. Use color, neatness and correct spelling and grammar.

Your poster needs a title “The Tiger Rising” by Kate
DiCamillo. It also needs your name.

1.    
Characters—Draw with a caption and/or describe
the 5 main characters—Rob, Sistine, Rob’s Dad, Willie May and Beauchamp.
Include physical and personality characteristics.  Due:
Friday, Feb. 28^th.

2.   
Theme— Type a paragraph and include a subtitle
of what you think the theme of the book is. Include details and quotes from the
book that support your choice of theme. Due
Tuesday March 4.

3.   
A particular scene—Draw one of the scenes in
the book, including the characters that were in that scene. For example, the
school bus bullying, the school office with the principal, the woods and
shaking the tiger cage, or the motel room where Rob and his Dad live. Due Wednesday March 5.

4.   
Symbols— Draw one symbol and write a
paragraph describing what the symbol means in the novel—examples could include
the cage, the tiger, the rash, the suitcase, or the bird. Due Thursday March 6.

5.    
Compare and Contrast—Write a paragraph or draw
and complete a Venn diagram to compare this book to another book you have read,
include the characters, the setting, and plot elements. Include at least three
separate items. Due Friday March 7.

6.    
Conflict and Resolution--- Write a paragraph or
draw a story mountain about the basic conflict facing the main character and
how he resolves it. Tell briefly what happens in this story from beginning to
end. Due Tuesday March 11.

Homework

Spelling is due tomorrow.

Math is to finish the "Sprint" worksheet (don't spend more than 10 solid minutes on this) and the Problem Set, both sides.

Writing: A list of instructions or a paragraph explaining how to use a number line for adding fractions.

There will be a quiz on each student's street address (number and street) and a phone number (it can be a home number, or a cell number.)

Reading 30 min.

Homework and information

I have reinstated Daily Writing for this week. Suggestions include writing about whether plants can hear (we studied this in our National Geographic reading this morning,) our Mayor election, or our trip to Highland. Remember that each student needs to write one paragraph/page in the narrative, opinion and persuasive modes. All 3 are due Friday.



Math: Study Link 6-1 and Blue Sheet.



Spelling: Lesson 15 is due Friday.



30 min. of reading



There will be no speeches tomorrow. I have a bad cold, and instead of giving it to the students and staff, I have decided to stay home tomorrow. Unless I notify you by email, you can assume we will have speeches on Thursday.

Speech ending

One student requested the example ending I shared with the class, which includes a quote from the book, so here it is.  Quotes can be shorter than the one I used.

(Ending) Card #5:

Katherine Patterson wrote: “He thought about it all day, how before Leslie came, he had been a nothing—a stupid, weird little kid who drew funny pictures and chased around a cow field trying to act big—trying to hide a whole mob of foolish little fears running riot inside his gut.

It was Leslie who had taken him from the cow pasture into Terabithia and turned him into a king….Now it was time for him to move out. She wasn’t there, so he must go for both of them. It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength.”

Katherine Patterson’s book, Bridge to Terabithia, left me knowing I’ll never forget Jess Aarons and Terabithia. When the book ends, Jess is building a bridge so he and MayBelle can get safely to Terabithia. He knows MayBelle also needs to be strong and brave, and he is ready to show her how she can be the Queen of Terabithia.

Speech and other information

Speeches will begin on Friday. Please ask your child which day s/he has been assigned.

Tonight's homework is Study Link 5-9 (both sides), 30 min. reading, spelling (due Friday), and speech preparation.

We need a parent to purchase and bring in our Valentine's party treats. (We will let you know what we would like to serve, and the PTC reimburses the cost. The party will be on Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.) The class will be planning the party, but we can also use parents to help serve the food and drink and clean up afterwards.

Speeches

Speeches will start on Friday. Today (Monday) we will craft endings to the speeches, and then the students will have Tuesday through Thursday to work on practicing orally at home and finishing their posters. No more school time will be spent on speeches (except Study Hall) after Monday. The expectation is that the students will memorize their hook so they can start out with strong eye contact. Please encourage your child to practice with an audience so that they can be heard and understood across a classroom. (The biggest problem students have is making their voices loud enough to be heard.)

Daily homework

Math study link 5-7
 Card #2 for speech ( including setting, main characters,  plot of the book, challenge faced by the character and ending)
Reading 30 minutes
Spelling due Friday
Diary entry (rough draft)--we didn't get to this today, so anyone who hasn't finished has until tomorrow
Study math vocabulary--quiz will be next week.

Today's homework

Rough draft of colonies diary entry
30 + minutes of reading
Spelling due Friday
Speech--card #1 with hook (intro) is due-- practice your intro (this part will need to be memorized when speeches are given next week.)
Math--Study Link 5-6

Highland Park field trip permission slip needs to be signed and returned by Tuesday.

We had 40 minutes of study hall and 40 minutes of work time to work on the diary entry, speech and math homework.

Today's homework

Pre-write (outline or web) of diary entry for the colonial simulation due tomorrow
Spelling Lesson 13 due Friday
Reading--30 minutes plus bring in your book for your speech--we start working on it tomorrow.

Hubble photos

We looked at Hubble Telescope pictures today, and some of the children wanted me to share the Site with you. It's Hubblesite.org. Amazing photos!

Homework is finish the Charlotte Doyle writing, choose a book for January's speech, spelling is due, and Study Link 5-5.

Daily homework

Sorry that I have been inconsistent in keeping the blog up to date. I have been sending emails instead about important news.

We are ending this week with a new writing assignment about our read aloud "Charlotte Doyle."
Spelling will be due as usual on Friday (Lesson 12).
Math homework was "lesson 5-5" today, but not the study link. We didn't make it through the whole lesson in class, so the study link will be done tomorrow.

The kids are very excited about the upcoming break! We will sing with our buddies tomorrow and celebrate with our movie/party on Friday.

They will need to re-read their favorite book over the holidays for their January speech, unless they are currently in the middle of the book or just finished it.

Daily homework and information

 Rough draft of letter to our new student, Damien
Novel studies/reading 30 min
Spelling Ch. 11
Please send in old newspapers for an engineering design project

Other notes:

Cookie dough delivery may be delayed due to icy road conditions.
I have gotten quite a few parent volunteers for BizTown, but we can still use more, and especially for interview day.

All parents have approved the movie "Home Alone" so our winter party on Dec. 20th will be cookies, hot cocoa and the movie. We will need the loan of your electric kettles and crockpots, as well as your assistance in preparing and serving the food and drink.

Daily homework

Sorry I've neglected the blog!

Homework is Spelling, Unit 10
Math, Practice Sheet #26
Novel studies
Writing--final, typed copy of Weather Forecast writing

You should have received an email about our winter party, and a permission slip that needs to be returned.

Several students volunteered to bring in a crock pot on Dec. 20 for us to use to make hot cocoa.  Electric kettles would work too. If that's something you can do, please let us know.

Daily homework

Today's homework is reading for novel studies and math sheet 4-7 (both sides.) Over break, reading will be the only homework.  Have a great Thanksgiving break!

Daily homework/Cookie dough reminder

Novel Studies
Writing and spelling homework due
no math tonight

cookie dough fundraiser money due

Daily homework

Daily writing (write once this week about the noise in the hall)
Novel Studies
Spelling--Lesson 9
Math--S-L 4-3 and blue sheet
Study math vocabulary (test next week)

Plan and Profile sheet--give to parent

Weekly update

This short week was exciting--we started our study of the American Colonies, wrapped up our Explorer reports, started sewing a craft project, and won the first round of the Running Club! Oh, and we participated in Jazzercise this afternoon. We're ready to rest this weekend!

Thank you, Parents and Students, for spending time with me at conferences. We set some important goals for the children to strive for this year. Please keep in touch with me as the year progresses--I need to know when your children are needing more (or less!) work, or are confused about what we're studying.

Have a great weekend! As usual, only novel studies for homework.