We're Off to a Great Start!

Yippee! This year is off to a great start! We are really on our way to developing a fabulous classroom community!

Let me first start with a few announcements and then I will update you on the happenings of our classroom:

ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Picture Retake is Friday, September 13th.  Sorry for the last notice, we were just informed.  If you child did not have their picture taken, they will need to have one taken on Friday even if they don't plan on ordering any pictures.  If your child wants to retake their picture, they will need to bring back in the first set of pictures to be able to retake and get a second set of pictures.

Our first field trip with be Thursday, September 26.  We will be heading downtown Madison to the Universities science fair, which will be followed by an experience with the Geology Museum.  This will kick of Science in our classroom, and will be a great bridge from what the 4th graders learned in 3rd grade.  Look for the permission slip to come home shortly, and please send it back as soon as you are able.

If your family has not turned in the Blog Permission form please do so (I will send extras home if need be)  I have some great first and second week of school pictures I would like to post, so you can see how we have begun to build our community and the learning we are already taking part in.  

LEARNING UPDATES!

Reading:  We are currently working on positive reading behaviors in our classroom.  We have been actively building reading stamina and are already up to 20 minutes of uninterrupted reading time! WOW! We have been discussing why we love to read, our favorite books and series, how to pick good fit books, and we have explored and picked books out of our classroom library.  Whew! We have been busy!  We will start very soon with strategy groups and individual reading conferences.

Your child will be required to read 20 (or more if they choose) minutes every week night.  They will log this time on a reading log that should stay in their take home folder.  It is very important that this reading log is accurate as I will use it as a data collection tool as well as will use it during our individual conferences.  I have told them that I am not as concerned about the parent signature, but rather that it is filled out every night, and that you sign when you are able.

Math:  We have begun math this year by taking a beginning of the year assessment, so I can find out more information about each child as a math learner.  We are also working on collaborative problem solving.  Soon we will begin the everyday math unit 1 which focuses on line, shape, and angles.

Science:  We have begun learning about the scientific method, and will use it with some simple experiments.  Soon we will transfer that knowledge into starting some of our 4th grade science units.

Writing: We have begun working on some of our structures and routines for writing.  We have been writing off different journal prompts, and getting our brains and hands ready to write more and more.  Soon we will begin lessons on writing realistic fiction.

Please let me know if you have any questions! :)