Thirteenth Day of School

Today in Science we opened our first Science unit: Solids and Liquids. We learned the 3 states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas (tested). We discussed how matter can change from one state to another (tested)

You should find your child's math test along with a set of vocabulary cards which can be used for studying for subsequent tests in the chapter.

Enjoy your holidays!

Math Test Results

Chapter 1 Mid-Test 1

Of 22 students taking the test, 17 passed with an adjusted score of 10 or better. Three students scored a high-score of 16. The modal average was 15.

Twelfth Day of School

We took our first Math test today. There was no homewrok assigned.

In Writing we brainstormed things we like to do in preparation for writing personal narratives.

In Social Science we discussed the traditions of the original people of Australia called 'first people'. We then defined the term tradition (possibly tested) and discussed traditions of the United States. Discuss: what traditions do you share with your family?

For oral language we read the African Folk Tale: The Great Tug-of-War.

Eleventh Day of School

Hope to see a representative from every family tonight at Back-to-School.

Tonight's homework is a review for a mid-chapter test in Math which will likely be administered tomorrow. The math problems should have been completed in class today leaving the "Math Talk" questions to be completed with assistance of parents. A more detailed explanation will be given at Back-to-School.

Today for writing we had our first immersion lesson of the personal narrative process. For our work today we made a list of possible settings (places) for our narratives to take place.

Homework

If your child's homework is retuned to them, that likely means the directions for completing it were not followed. Word/story problems should include both a picture model with circles/counters and a math sentence model in order to be considered complete. All corrected/completed homework should be returned to the classroom. Homework will be explained in greater detail during Back-to -School Night on August 29th.

Sixth day of School

In Social Science, we discussed:

•  Being a good helper/citizen
• The Golden Rule (tested)
• The difference between rights and responsibilities

Third Day of School

For discussion:

• What is mist?
• What is a mast?

Second Day of School

Please find your child's green folder to be used for writing this year. Complete the project and return to school as soon as complete along with your child's list of memorable moments. Don't forget to keep a copy of the list at home.

For discussion:

• How can you show the letter 'a', 's', and 't' in ASL
• Can you spell 'sat' in ASL?
• Can you show 'yes' in ASL?

We are currently taking our initial reading assessment battery. Results should be available next week.

First Day of School

There is no homework for tonight. Instead, please take some time to fill out your child's emergency information paper sent home inside the blue (cougar) homework folder.

For discussion:

• What did the family decide to bring with them to beach from the story you read today? (board, pail, ball, kite, camera)
• Show me how to make the letter 'a' using American Sign Language (ASL).

Parent Assignment #2

A green folder will be sent home with your child tomorrow. Your task:

With you child's input, decorate all surfaces of your child's folder (inside and out) with some or all of the following items:

• Pictures of memorable events form the child's life
• Pictures or advertisements of your child's favorite items
• Pictures of topics which particularly interest your child (your child may have an interest in machines, space, dinosaurs, soccer, etc.)

Before placing something on the folder consider: how with this lend itself to a dicussion between your child and their teacher, or how will this help my child to brainstorm topics for writing?

 Return the decorated folder to school with your child by Wednessay August 23, 2015.

You might notice that the folders are not very substantial in quality. After the folder is decorated you may consider adding a bit of clear packing tape over the items which you have attached. We will be using these folder the entire year.

Please post any questions you may have in the comment section below.

Parent Assignment #1

The Memorable Moment

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be working on the genre of personal narratives.

Your Task:

With input from your child, over the course of the next few days, construct a list of memorable events. These individual events should be about moments which occurred across a time span of approximately 20 minutes maximum in length. Each event should have an identifiable emotion (or two) attached to it (fear, happiness, surprise).

Examples of events which will not work:

• My Day at Disneyland
• Christmas Morning
• My Birthday Party
• The Winning Game

Examples of events which will work:

• Meeting Cinderella
• Opening My Favorite Gift
• Breaking the Pinata
• Scoring the Winning Goal

Try to make a list of at least 10 memorable moments. Make a copy of the list for you to keep at home. Send one copy of the list to school with your child by Wednessday August 23th (sooner than that is fine if not better). We will refer to this list as our list of Memorable Moments. Hopefully your child will be able to construct at least 3 narratives from events in the list. They will eventually be choosing from among those narratives one or two which they focus on for elaboration, revising, and editing for publication.

For your child's homework over the next few weeks, choose one event from the list each day and have your child tell the story to you orally. Listen for the following characteristics/items in their speech:

• Complete sentences (not run-on sentences or phrases)
• A beginning, middle, and closure to the story
• Details or examples of dialogue

Please finish your lists up this weekend. If all goes as planned we should begin work with our lists next week in class. Again, if you have any questions regarding this important assignment feel free to post in the comment section. If you would like to post an example for comment I will be glad to review with my thoughts.

Welcome

This blog has been created to keep parents and guardians of the students in Room 11 at Caroldale Learning Community informed about daily activities in our classroom and school. Please discuss what you read here with your children when appropriate. Ask them clarifying questions. They don't necessarily need to know how you know what happened during their day, they should simply know that you are informed.

Feel free to  respond to what you read by posting a comment or question. Avoid including students' names when responding to posts. General comments and questions are best in this arena.

Please remember the most efficient way to communicate with me on timely issues is to write a note on or attached to your child's homework. For convenience, you might consider linking to this page through an rss feed or through the google reader application.

I am also available for conferences after school most days except Tuesdays. It is okay to drop by without an appointment with questions and concerns.