The Power of Words

As we enter into our 3rd and final case study of our expedition, we examine the law of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence as the cornerstone and foundation of the United States government.  Beginning with the infamous “Paul Revere’s Ride,” students have compared and contrasted multiple historical primary sources and created beautiful found poetry through the lens of works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Phyllis Wheatly.  We have also composed a “rap” based on Taxation of the colonies (to be performed at our Social Dance final product).  Next up, we will create a personal Decalogue, comprised of 10 “maxims” (thank you, Dr. Franklin), and will work from a menu system to create a synthesis box that holds learned information about the famous and important documents that have shaped our country.  

Our Active Reading Journals are in full swing!  We are using our anchor text “Chains” for our initial Book Club with our ARJ’s, and students are learning to clarify information, develop “fat” questions, make predictions, recognize complex vocabulary ,and summarize the text while we read. Alongside reading our anchor text, students continue to practice their skills in reading their Daily 3 books as well.  We love our daily Sacred Reading Time as much as…..

….Our Sacred Writing Time!  Every day for ten minutes, students are presented with a prompt and vocabulary word to add to their collection.  In this ten minutes, students hone in their writing skills they learn during our workshop time and respond in their Poetry Pensives to either the prompt, or a creation/ idea of their own.  When the timer goes off, students then share with their partner.  This has become a very exciting chunk of our day that students appreciate!  Our larger, rubric-based writing pieces currently include constructing a tall-tale, and, when we return from our holiday break, students will begin a persuasive piece to add to our collection.

Bridges Math Night was HUGE success; it was great to see how helpful the information was to many parents.  Please continue to communicate if you are unclear on the strategies students are learning.  5th graders are working on fractional relationships through equivalence, common denominators, and improper/ mixed numbers. Through learning different strategies to gain fluency in these concepts, students recognize common characteristics between fractions, money (factors to 100), and clocks (12). Students continue to use problem strings as a vehicle to develop stronger understanding of the daily learning targets. Friday quizzes continue each week, as daily note taking via the Cornell note method.   4th graders  are currently working on multi-Digit multiplication and early division. In this unit your child will multiply by 10, 100, and 1, 000, multiply 2-digit numbers, represent multiplication with arrays and ratio tables, divide with and without remainders and solve multiplication and division story problems.Using arrays and ratio tables helps students see why different strategies, including the standard algorithm, work. The array also shows why multiplying two 2-digit numbers yields an answer that is so much bigger than the two original numbers. This understanding, along with mastery of basic facts and a good sense of place value, ensures that students carry out the calculations accurately, efficiently, and with understanding.

Some dates to remember:

November 20- Miracle Worker 12:15-2:15

November 24-28 – No School

December 10 – Minimum day

December 18- Celebration of Learning & Brisbin and Akers Crew final product presentation- A Social Dance (5:30- Gym)

December 19 – Nutcracker at Truckee High

Thank you to all parents who have been coming in to help in the classroom!  Also, thank you to our drivers and chaperones!

I am so thankful to have your children in my life- they inspire me and make me laugh every day!

Julie