Here we are in our last focus for Theme 4. Next week will begin our Monitoring Student Progress week with our performance tasks then Theme 4 test. My how time is flying by!!!
Reading
This week our focus will be on comparing and contrasting story elements as well as recognizing how an author helps us to recognize differences and likenesses between characters in a story. Our story will be Yang the Second and Her Secret Admirers. Students have vocabulary words on page 392 along with extra words: accompaniment, demonstration, impressed, noble, and rhythmic. Students will also be assigned questions 1-6 on page 408.
Language
We are wrapping up our focus on procedural writing. Students will peer revise and edit this week. Student's papers will be due Friday, February 17. We have gone over every step and expectation for their paper in class. Students should have journal activities in their writer's notebook to guide them while publishing their writing.
Spelling
This week's focus how words change spelling when adding the ed or ing ending. A pretest is given on Monday for students to have a focused list throughout the week.
Important Dates:
February 14................Valentine's Day (students may bring in Valentine's for friends)
February 16................FCAT Explorer night 6-7p.m.
February 20................Holiday-President's Day
February 22................Early dismissal
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Updates February 6-10, 2012
You should have seen the report cards that came home last week by now along with the updated mid-year assessment page. I am so proud of how well the students did the second nine weeks!! You should have also received a survey last week in a white envelope.
Thanks to all who have signed and returned all three. If you haven't yet they can still be turned in this week.
Reading
This week in reading our focus will be inferring. This is when students use text clues along with personal knowledge to understand things not directly stated in the text. We will be using the story Dear Mr. Henshaw. Students should define the vocabulary on pg 414 and answer questions on pg 432 throughout the week. Look for reminders in student's planners.
Reminder: reading logs and student planners still need to be signed every night.
Writing
We will continue our study of procedural writing. By the end of the week students will be ready to write their complete paper.
Spelling
This week's words focus on suffixes. Look for the pretest to come home on Monday.
Important dates
February 8................early dismissal
February 14...............Valentine's Day (students may bring in Valentines)
February 20...............President's Day No School
February 21...............Last day to turn in money for Marine Science Field Trip
February 22...............early dismissal
February 27...............Marine Science Center Field Trip
Thanks to all who have signed and returned all three. If you haven't yet they can still be turned in this week.
Reading
This week in reading our focus will be inferring. This is when students use text clues along with personal knowledge to understand things not directly stated in the text. We will be using the story Dear Mr. Henshaw. Students should define the vocabulary on pg 414 and answer questions on pg 432 throughout the week. Look for reminders in student's planners.
Reminder: reading logs and student planners still need to be signed every night.
Writing
We will continue our study of procedural writing. By the end of the week students will be ready to write their complete paper.
Spelling
This week's words focus on suffixes. Look for the pretest to come home on Monday.
Important dates
February 8................early dismissal
February 14...............Valentine's Day (students may bring in Valentines)
February 20...............President's Day No School
February 21...............Last day to turn in money for Marine Science Field Trip
February 22...............early dismissal
February 27...............Marine Science Center Field Trip
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Updates January 30-February 3, 2012
Wow, I can't believe we will have three weeks coming up with a normal schedule! I am very proud of the students this nine weeks. Many worked very hard and made some awesome grades on their report card! Keep up the great work! Don't forget to continue signing planners and reading logs nightly.
Reading
This week we will focus on noting details in a text. Students will note details about characters, setting and events relating to the problem of the story. This week's story is Mom's Best Friend. Students will define vocabulary related to the story on page 366 along with extra words: attachment, braille,layout,mature and obedience. Students will read and log in nightly as well as answer the questions on page 386 #1-7.
Language
We will continue to write directions this week. Students should have their topic decided and the materials and steps written for their procedural narrative.
This week in spelling students continue to study ways to split words. This week it is the CVVC pattern.
Students should have a focused spelling and vocabulary list in the front of their reading log folder to study every night.
Important dates:
January 30.....................report cards go home
February 3.....................district writing prompt
February 8.....................early dismissal
February 16....................FCAT Parent Information Meeting 6-7p.m.
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Reading
This week we will focus on noting details in a text. Students will note details about characters, setting and events relating to the problem of the story. This week's story is Mom's Best Friend. Students will define vocabulary related to the story on page 366 along with extra words: attachment, braille,layout,mature and obedience. Students will read and log in nightly as well as answer the questions on page 386 #1-7.
Language
We will continue to write directions this week. Students should have their topic decided and the materials and steps written for their procedural narrative.
This week in spelling students continue to study ways to split words. This week it is the CVVC pattern.
Students should have a focused spelling and vocabulary list in the front of their reading log folder to study every night.
Important dates:
January 30.....................report cards go home
February 3.....................district writing prompt
February 8.....................early dismissal
February 16....................FCAT Parent Information Meeting 6-7p.m.
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Updates January 23-27, 2012
We will now be entering the third nine weeks. Wow how time flies:-) Grades are in and report cards will be coming home shortly. Please remind students that new grades start now!
Reading
This week our focus will be on problem solving. Students will read many texts, determine the problem of the character, how the character is trying to solve the problem and then evaluate how the character solved the problem. Students may also compare how the character solved the problem to how they would have solved the problem.
This week's focus story is Mariah Keeps Cool. Students have a focused vocabulary list as well as question to answer from the textbook. Ask your child what the problem was in the story and how the character solved it.
This week's spelling focus is VCCCV pattern. This is when a word has a consonant paired with a cluster. Students will recognize how to split the word between the syllable with the 3 consonants and cluster. Ask your child for an example from their spelling pretest.
Writing
We have finished the persuasive genre study and are moving on to narrative procedural writing. This is where students will write directions for something they are the expert on. Ask your child what directions they are going to write.
We also are beginning a book publishing project. Many students have participated in this project in previous grades so they are familiar with it. They are very excited to publish their stories in a real book format. It is a great example of the real publishing process. Ask your child what they are writing their book about.
Important dates
January 23..............first day of 3rd nine weeks
January 25..............early dismissal
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Reading
This week our focus will be on problem solving. Students will read many texts, determine the problem of the character, how the character is trying to solve the problem and then evaluate how the character solved the problem. Students may also compare how the character solved the problem to how they would have solved the problem.
This week's focus story is Mariah Keeps Cool. Students have a focused vocabulary list as well as question to answer from the textbook. Ask your child what the problem was in the story and how the character solved it.
This week's spelling focus is VCCCV pattern. This is when a word has a consonant paired with a cluster. Students will recognize how to split the word between the syllable with the 3 consonants and cluster. Ask your child for an example from their spelling pretest.
Writing
We have finished the persuasive genre study and are moving on to narrative procedural writing. This is where students will write directions for something they are the expert on. Ask your child what directions they are going to write.
We also are beginning a book publishing project. Many students have participated in this project in previous grades so they are familiar with it. They are very excited to publish their stories in a real book format. It is a great example of the real publishing process. Ask your child what they are writing their book about.
Important dates
January 23..............first day of 3rd nine weeks
January 25..............early dismissal
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Monday, January 16, 2012
Last week of the 2nd Nine Weeks
This week not only marks the end of our reading Theme 3 but also the end of the 2nd nine weeks. We will be wrapping up many things this week.
Reading
This week students will not have a focus or story as we will review skills and strategies we have studied this theme. We will review following directions and cause and effect. Students will have a performance task on each skill as well as their theme 3 benchmark test on Thursday.
Students also need to make sure their reading logs are up to date as they will need 33 completed reading logs in order to attend the reading celebration for the 2nd nine weeks.
There are no vocabulary or spelling words this week.
Writing
This year students will get to publish their own book in Writer's Workshop. This is a great opportunity for students to see the actual book publishing process from beginning to end. This week students will begin brainstorming and planning what they want to publish for this project. Ask your child what they are thinking about writing.
Upcoming dates:
January 19............end of 2nd nine weeks
January 20............Planning day...no school
January 25............Early dismissal
Until next time,
R.O'Steen
Reading
This week students will not have a focus or story as we will review skills and strategies we have studied this theme. We will review following directions and cause and effect. Students will have a performance task on each skill as well as their theme 3 benchmark test on Thursday.
Students also need to make sure their reading logs are up to date as they will need 33 completed reading logs in order to attend the reading celebration for the 2nd nine weeks.
There are no vocabulary or spelling words this week.
Writing
This year students will get to publish their own book in Writer's Workshop. This is a great opportunity for students to see the actual book publishing process from beginning to end. This week students will begin brainstorming and planning what they want to publish for this project. Ask your child what they are thinking about writing.
Upcoming dates:
January 19............end of 2nd nine weeks
January 20............Planning day...no school
January 25............Early dismissal
Until next time,
R.O'Steen
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Updates January 9-13, 2012
We had a great first week back! The kids were ready to jump right back into Reader's and Writer's Workshop!
This week in Reading....
We will focus on Author's Viewpoint. This is the way the author thinks or feels about a subject. The author's viewpoint reflects his or her attitude and assumptions of their topic. Students will read many texts and practice determining the author's viewpoint. The textbook story we will use is And Then What Happened Paul Revere? Students will read about Paul Revere and determine what the author's viewpoint or thoughts and feelings about him were.
Vocabulary words for this week are on page 260 in the text along with the added words: cargo, liberty, and sentries.
The spelling focus for this week is the er and el sound spelled with different patterns. Look for a corrected pretest for your child to be studying through the week.
This week in Writing...
We have concluded our study on persuasive writing and will begin a study of letter writing. Students should have turned in their persuasive essay by now.
Important dates
Early dismissal................Jan. 11
Martin Luther King day.........Jan. 16 No school
End of grading period..........Jan. 19
Planning day...................Jan. 20 No school
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
This week in Reading....
We will focus on Author's Viewpoint. This is the way the author thinks or feels about a subject. The author's viewpoint reflects his or her attitude and assumptions of their topic. Students will read many texts and practice determining the author's viewpoint. The textbook story we will use is And Then What Happened Paul Revere? Students will read about Paul Revere and determine what the author's viewpoint or thoughts and feelings about him were.
Vocabulary words for this week are on page 260 in the text along with the added words: cargo, liberty, and sentries.
The spelling focus for this week is the er and el sound spelled with different patterns. Look for a corrected pretest for your child to be studying through the week.
This week in Writing...
We have concluded our study on persuasive writing and will begin a study of letter writing. Students should have turned in their persuasive essay by now.
Important dates
Early dismissal................Jan. 11
Martin Luther King day.........Jan. 16 No school
End of grading period..........Jan. 19
Planning day...................Jan. 20 No school
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Monday, January 2, 2012
Updates January 3-6, 2012
Happy New Year!!! Hope everyone had a great break and is ready to get back to the grind! We are now finished with our mid-year assessments and will be returning to our regular workshop routine: spelling list on Monday, vocabulary on Monday, new story and focus on Monday with tests on Friday.
Reading
This week we will focus on cause and effects in reading. Students will read Katie's Trunk and look for causes and effects. Students also have new vocabulary words to define and study through the week.
Writing
We have finished up our study of persuasive writing and will work this week on writing a friendly letter. Ask your child who they wrote their letter to.
Spelling
Students will have the spelling words called out this Tuesday with their test on Friday.
Upcoming dates:
Early dismissal...........January 11
Student Holiday...........January 16
End of grading period.....January 19
Planning day no school....January 20
Early dismissal...........January 25
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Reading
This week we will focus on cause and effects in reading. Students will read Katie's Trunk and look for causes and effects. Students also have new vocabulary words to define and study through the week.
Writing
We have finished up our study of persuasive writing and will work this week on writing a friendly letter. Ask your child who they wrote their letter to.
Spelling
Students will have the spelling words called out this Tuesday with their test on Friday.
Upcoming dates:
Early dismissal...........January 11
Student Holiday...........January 16
End of grading period.....January 19
Planning day no school....January 20
Early dismissal...........January 25
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
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