Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!



Happy Thanksgiving Week!  We will be celebrating with a look at some of the pilgrim's struggles and triumphs this week.  We will be reading the selection, Across The Wide Dark Sea by Jean Van Leeuwen.  This is a realistic story of one boy's journey across the sea.  We will also be digging deeper into our knowledge of Thanksgiving, and how it became a national holiday.
And of course we'll be writing and working on our x2s and x5s as well.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with family!  See you in December!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Looking Forward to Parent Teacher Conference

I look forward to meeting with you this week for Parent/ Teacher Conferences. For those who didn't have the chance to sign up, I assigned times that I had that were still available.  Hopefully this will work for you and your family.  Appointment slips as well as an informational letter from Canyons district explaining our new report card came home yesterday in your student's homework folder.  Please look for both.  See you Wednesday or Thursday!

This week in Language we will be reading the story Amazing Bird Nests.  There are many kinds of birds, and each variety builds a different nest. This selection discusses how, where, and why birds build nests. It tells about the unusual places they build, and the materials they use. It focuses on
some unusual nests, including one of the smallest—the hummingbird’s nest, barely an inch across—and one of the largest—the eagle’s nest, which can weigh as much as a car!  This story is a great springboard for our question of the week:  How do animals and plants adapt to find solutions?
We will be focusing on main idea and details this week.  The topic is what a piece of writing is all about. The main idea is the most important idea about the topic. Details are small pieces of information or facts. They tell more about the main idea.
We are also learning about plural possessive nouns.  If two or more people share or own
something, use a plural possessive noun. Add an apostrophe (’) to plural nouns that end in -s, -es, or -ies to make them possessive (boys’, ladies’, canvases’). Add an apostrophe and an -s to make irregular plural nouns possessive (the men’s coats).

And exciting news... WE are starting multiplication meanings this week.  We will be learning that multiplication actually means "groups of" when thinking about how to use manipulatives and draw visuals.  WE ARE SO EXCITED!