Working Hard!

We have been working very hard in the classroom!!

In math, we are working on learning how to solve for unknown numbers, solving math word problems, and reviewing median, mode, and range. Upcoming topics will include interpreting graphs and a review of coordinate graphing.

In reading, we have busy beavers! We are learning about word structure, studying new vocabulary words, adn learning about the parts of speech. We are learning what words are nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. We are also reviewing prefixes and suffixes. We have read 2 selections that focus on heritage. One story took place in Vietnam and the second story took us on a trip to Senegal! What fun!!

In social studies, we just finished learning about the 5 Themes of Geography. We will have a study guide to work on and then a test to follow shortly.

In science, we are continuing our work on food chains and food webs. Students will be constructing a food web based on a group of animals that they have researched. We also have been learning about how humans affect an environment, and also about the living and nonliving organisms that are in an ecosystem.

In writing, we are continuing our work on our writing menu. The students have been working very hard despite the technological slowness of our computers! This is very trying for some of the students, but they are working through the difficulties and coming out ahead! We will finish our writing menu on October 5th.

We have our first Grizzly Den Store visit this Friday. The students are looking forward to spending their hard earned Den Dollars!

Lastly, I just have a few things in which I would like to touch base with you:

• Progress Reports go home tomorrow. These are for you to KEEP. You do not need to send these back to school.
• Graded work does not to be returned if it is in the "Take Home and Keep" pocket of the Wednesday folder. However, any work that is stapled and requires your signature needs to be returned in the Wednesday folder and brought in on Thursday. All Wednesday folders need to be brought to school on Thursday.
• Curriculum Night is Thursday, Sept. 30th from 6-7pm. We will give an overview of the curriculum for this year during this time.

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back to a new school year! I have enjoyed meeting many of you and your children at Open House. I look forward to a great school year.



There are a few items which I believe will help with this school year.

• Grading Scale: The grading scale is a 7 point scale. All graded items will be graded according to this scale. The scale is posted on the side of the blog page, but it is as follows:

A 100 -- 93

B 92 -- 85

C 84 -- 78

D 77 -- 69

F 68 -- below

• Tests/Quizzes: By now, your child has already had a test and/or quiz in one or more subject areas. Every Friday your child will have a Weekly Math Quiz. This quiz will cover a majority of the material that I teach in class. A good resource for reference/study is the daily Math Calendar. I also will give a Study Guide for MOST Science and Social Studies tests/quizzes. The students keep these guides in their notebooks. These guides are a great tool for reviewing the material.


• Calendar Math: Daily Calendar Math is the first item your child completes in class. The amount of time it takes to complete this work depends a great deal on the amount of time your child actively works at his/her work. There is about 25 minutes for Calendar Math to be completed. Calendar Math is a daily REVIEW of concepts that are taught during Math class, so completing Calendar Math should not be difficult. Please encourage your child to come to school and focus