Happy Friday and Welcome to May!
For those of you who were able to join our Family Meet last night, I want to thank you for sharing your questions and concerns and encourage you to keep doing so! The more I know, the more I can help, challenge, and modify in ways that are helpful for your child and your family.
As a follow-up to suggestions made by a few of you this week, I have decided to add "due dates" to assignments. If your child is someone who benefits from this structure, awesome! If you've enjoyed creating the academic pace for your family these past few weeks, fret not! Most assignments do not require specific work to be submitted and unless otherwise indicated (through e-mail or Morning Message slides), you can ignore the due dates in Google Classroom.
Reading
I've dubbed this week: "Theme Week" as we continue to consider BIG IDEAS that authors share through their writing. Recorded lessons will be posted on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to coach students through this deeper thinking. We will also be talking about theme during book clubs this week.
Writing
This past week students worked hard to create story arcs and plan for their historical fiction stories. This coming week we'll begin drafting. Students will work scene by scene to add dialogue, description, inner thinking and all the glorious, literary qualities of narrative writing.
I will also be inviting students to WRITING SMALL GROUPS this week! Please check your child's Google Calendar to see when those small groups will be meeting. I've showed students how to find their Google Calendar app a few times during Morning Meeting, but any additional guidance in checking and updating their calendar is greatly appreciated!
Math
In math this week we'll be comparing decimals using both our understanding of fractions, as well as models and place value chart.
I will also be adding a new section to our Google Classroom called "Math Games." I will post online fluency work as well as math activities in this section for students to complete if they finish with their math assignments quickly.
Social Studies
This week I'll be posting a couple new assignments in the Social Studies section of our Google Classroom. There will be two articles about the U.S. Constitution and Constitutional Convention, and *drumroll please* we're bring our 50 States Study to the big leagues!
Why study geography you might ask? My primary goal as an educator is to help raise caring, conscientious citizens of the world. I believe that studying geography is a foundational step in this reaching this goal. When we know where people live and what their lives are like we are better able to understand their culture, their concerns, and how we might help. By knowing where Oregon is, our ears immediately perk up when we come across articles or stories about this place. In knowing more, we begin caring more, and through caring we can accomplish amazing things.
Thus, over the next couple of weeks I will be posting geography resources to help your child study for their 50 States Quiz on Friday, May 22. If your child has already been studying and is ready to take their 50 States Quiz sooner rather than later, the next challenge is state capitals! Let me know and I will share those resources with you and your child.
That's a wrap on April and an intro to May. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and safely enjoy the beautiful Spring weather!
Best,
Kati