Mrs. Connor's
Newsletter
October 14, 2015
Classroom News
There are many upcoming events happening at
Sarah Adams . Please check them out on the
class website calendar! If you have not had a
chance to sign up for a parent/teacher
conference either on November 19th or 23rd,
please let know. I look forward to meeting with
you!
In the next couple weeks, I will be giving each
student a reading assessment to determine
their independent and instructional reading
level. During this time, the boys and girls will
be working with a partner or small group doing
Daily Five reading and writing activities.
During Back to School Night, several parents
volunteered to help out during Daily Five
rotations on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
morning from 8:45 until 9:45am. Please let me
know if you are still available and can help out
during this time and what day works best for
you. I will assign dates via a monthly calendar to
all those who have offered to help. Please make
sure that the office has your signed volunteer slip
giving you the ok to help out in the classroom
with students.
Our 5th Grade Buddies!! Last week,
th
we met our 5 grade buddies. The buddies
discussed their likes and differences! Some
were surprised to find that they both had
Mrs. Connor for a second grade teacher! The
boys and girls had a great time and look
forward to meeting again real soon!!
Reading Workshop
Thank you for sharing your reading habits with your child. All of us
are readers, and we read every day in many different places and for a
variety of reasons! You are modeling for your child that reading is a
lifelong skill used to gather information and provide enjoyment.
The boys and girls have been learning how to have collaborative
conversations about what they are reading. They are learning how to
provide specific evidence from the text to support their thoughts and
opinions. We had great “fishbowl” discussions last week about a story
titled Little Porcupine is Different. This story is about a little
porcupine that was bullied because his sharp quills were different
from those around him. I will use this story to model how to write a
written response for fictional literature. When readers write down
their thinking it helps them understand the text, and it will prepare
students for more meaningful book talks with their classmates. The
boys and girls will begin recording their own thoughts, connections,
questions and opinions in their Reading Notebooks.
Soon, the boys and girls will begin retelling stories in their own words.
They will each make their own retelling ribbon. This ribbon will be a
great resource for your child as they practice retelling a story for you
at home! It is important to set goals as a reader. We will make a class
list of possible reading goals we would like to work on during the next
few weeks. Look for the goals your child has chosen to come home in
their reading log folder.
Reading Tip of the Week: Fiction stories have a structure. The story tells the characters (who it is about), the
setting (where and when it happens), and the plot (what happens in the beginning, middle and end). While reading stories
with your child, have them retell the story. Be sure to have them include the characters, setting and plot of the story.
Email address: molly.connor@lz95.org
Phone Number: (847) 540-2874
Science
The boys and girls will continue
lessons describing the various ways
objects move. Our next experiment
will be investigating what happens to
the motion of a ping pong ball when
you use a straw and blow on it. They
will each use their own straw and
blow the ball along a one-meter track
made from a foam tube cut in half.
They will create a circular track,
zigzag track and any other track their
small group decides to try!
Vocabulary- direction, force,
motion, pull, push and inertia!
.
Social Studies
The boys and girls have been busy
creating awesome pictures of rural,
suburban and urban communities.
They will write a postcard this week
to an imaginary friend in one of
these communities. This week, we
will go on the Village of Lake Zurich
website to find specific information
about our community.
.
Math
We are working our way through Module 2. So far, the boys
and girls have solved one-step addition word problems and
identified fact families (facts through 20). They have used the
count on strategy to add two two-digit numbers within 100. To
do this, the students used a 100 chart. We began lessons on
how to use a number line to represent addition. The boys and
girls have been practicing their skip counting by 2’s, 5’s and
10’s. We even practice while waiting in line for bathroom and
drinks! Finally, the last lessons in Module 2 has students tell
and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest
hour, half hour and multiples of 5 minutes on analog clocks. I
will also introduce finding duration of events on analog clocks.
Next, Module 3 continues working with three-digit numbers
through 1,000. At home, I suggest using the hundreds chart to
add two 2-digit numbers. Then, use a dry erase board to write
three-digit numbers and add or subtract 10 or 100 to that
number. Finally, when your child feels comfortable, begin
mentally adding or subtracting 10 or 100 from any number for
totals up to 999. In Module 3, students will also estimate,
measure and compare length in inches and feet. Students will
be introduced to yards.
Essential Questions in Module 3:
How does a digit’s position affect its value?
Why does “what” we measure influence “how” we measure?
Writing
Often times, students can get good ideas for writing from their own family
or friends, stories they have read, lists they have made or their own journal
entries. We are learning how to identify beginning, middle and ending events
in the stories we read. Now, the boys and girls can apply that concept to their
writing. They will learn that it is important to have a beginning, middle and
end in their writing so the story or report is easy to read and it makes sense.
Students will also practice writing in their “natural voice” which sounds much
like their speaking voice. I take every opportunity available to praise
student’s natural writing voice and encourage them to continue to write this
way. So, during the upcoming weeks, I will be modeling the PREWRITING
PROCESS and paragraph ORGANIZATION and SHOW EXAMPLES OF VOICE.
Then, we will write a paragraph together making sure to include all 3 parts of
a paragraph (beginning, middle and end) and ways we can use our natural
voice in our writing.