Saturday, October 4, 2014

HEY Y'ALL, IT'S FALL!

What a perfectly beautiful Fall day it has been! There was definitely a new chill in the air that prompted me to stir up our first pot of chili of the season. I hope you are enjoying the weekend as much as I am.  I can hardly believe it is October already and we find ourselves at the end of the first quarter of the school year. October will be a very busy month.

CONFERENCE WEEK
OCTOBER 20 - 24
Early Dismissal 12:15
Conference notices will be sent home on Monday. Please respond as quickly as possible. Your child and I look forward to sharing his or her accomplishments with you.
Book Fair and Red Ribbon Week are the same week!


READING:  Students have been enrolled in two online programs that will help them work on their reading skills. They can access Study Island and Raz-Kids from the Addison webpage with the username and password I have given them for each site. Raz-Kids will be self-paced for each student at his or her differentiated level. We will be learning how to use Study Island to complete specific assignments soon.
SPELLING:  I have created a customized page for our class on the website, Spelling City. Simply go to http://www.spellingcity.com/leaders306/. You will be able to select the current week’s word sort and play a variety of fun games to practice. You can take a test and print your results or even a nice certificate! You may show me either one of those items to count for your Trial Test homework! You will still need to write the words you misspelled three times.
MATH:  Why did the boy eat his math homework? Because the teacher told him it was a piece of cake!   Indeed, Math is a piece of cake when we can recall the multiplication facts with ease. Does your child regularly practice the facts? Have you tried the websites on my blog? These two websites are especially good ones for increasing fluency:
Online Timed Facts:  http://www.mrmyers.org/Math_Mania/ttmult.html and
Math Expressions:  http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/mathfact/mathFact.htm.
We are beginning to multiply larger numbers and will use strategies that will make it as easy as pie – IF we are fluent with X Facts!
GRAMMAR:  Learning the parts of speech is an important step in understanding word meaning, word function, and proper English grammar. In fact, the Common Core State Standards require that as early as second grade, students will demonstrate command of all eight parts of speech, and that as students grow, their understanding and use of words will become more sophisticated each year (SpellingCity.com). We are constantly reviewing parts speech and proper English grammar, usage, and mechanics. We strive to apply all that we learn in all that we speak and write. The Grammar Gorillas at http://www.funbrain.com/grammar/ can make practice fun!  Practice punctuation, sentence structure, and more at http://www.funenglishgames.com/grammargames.html.
SOCIAL STUDIES:  We are embarking on a journey into history. We will learn about six Native American tribes: Inuit, Kwakiutl, Nez Perce, Pawnee, Hopi, and Seminole. Your child will become an expert as he or she researches and completes an at-home project to represent his or her assigned tribe. There are great resources that can be accessed through Cobb Digital Library via the Addison webpage. Thank you for supporting your child while letting his or her creativity show.

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