Mrs. Connor's
Newsletter
September 28, 2015
Reading Workshop
Classroom News
This week, I will begin sending home
Oops! Slips for missing homework
and assignment notebooks left at
home or school. Your child will fill out
the slip writing what they could do
next time to fix the problem. The slip
will need your signature and be
returned to school along with the
homework the next day.
We are working to improve our overall
stamina. My expectation is that the
boys and girls stay focused and be
active listeners when I am giving
directions or during lessons. When
one student does not follow this
directive, it affects everyone. Active
listeners are always looking at the
speaker, quiet and have their hands
and feet still. I encourage students to
repeat the directions back to me and
ask questions for clarification.
Star Student Posters
Today, I gave several volunteers a
Star Student Poster to decorate and
share with the class. I put the due
date on the back of the poster!
The boys and girls are enjoying the time they
spend each day reading and discussing all kinds of
fantastic books. This week, the boys and girls learned
how important it is for readers to build good reading
habits. When reading nonfiction, we always bring
information that we already know with us plus a
curiosity to learn more! The students learned how to
complete a Know-Want to Know-Learned or K-W-L
chart to guide their learning about sharks. I modeled
the process with a book by Jim Arnosky called All
About Sharks.
Next, I modeled another simple reading strategy
called Check For Understanding. It is very
important to stop, think and ask questions while
reading to make sure you understand what you have
read. I will be modeling this strategy throughout the
school year.
Finally, using the poem The Dentist and the
Crocodile, students took turns sharing with a partner
the images this poem created in their mind. This is
another strategy to help the students check their
understanding while reading. The next lessons will
help students prepare for meaningful discussions by
taking notes while reading.
Reading Tip of the Week: I encourage the boys and girls to practice the reading strategies they
are learning at school while reading at home. When they come upon an unfamiliar word they can
reread the words around it or use the illustrations to see if they can find clues to unlock its meaning.
Email address: molly.connor@lz95.org
Phone Number: (847) 540-2874
Science The boys and girls did a
great job investigating how they could
move a paper cup on a string without
touching the cup. They discovered
that when partners pulled the string
with equal force and in the same
direction, the cup did not move.
Partners could make the cup change
direction by moving the ends of the
string far apart then close together. A
few students wanted to take home
their “cup and string” investigation to
show you. That’s ok as long as I get
the four shower hooks back!
Social Studies Your child will
take a closer look at their hometown
community of Lake Zurich this week!
.
Words Their Way
Last week, I did some
additional assessments using
the Spell Checks from our
Words Their Way program.
You may notice a slight change
in the sort numbers, but my
goal is to differentiate
instruction allowing each
student to work at their
individual instructional level.
They will continue to say, spell
and sort the words with me as I
introduce each list. Please
make sure your child is on the
lookout for homophone words
in their sort each week! They
must know what each word
means and its spelling.
Math
The boys and girls have begun lessons in
Module 2 Working With Addition. I will send
home the parent letter for you to review what
the students will be learning in Module 2.
They will review that addition involves having
two or more parts which are joined together to
make the total.
The next lessons review the basic addition
facts and strategies for learning the facts
automatically with little hesitation. This makes
math more enjoyable for the boys and girls! I
will begin sending home fact practice sheets
and slowly introduce time tests to assess
student learning of the math facts up through
20 in both addition and subtraction. Also, I
will send home a Poke-A-Fact Card which
your child can use to practice their math facts
at home. I appreciate your support in helping
your child learn their facts!
Guided Reading Assignments
I will often have your child practice a particular skill or
strategy while reading to you at home. Once we get into a
routine, your child will know which two week nights he or
she will be bringing home a book. This book will be at their
independent reading level or slightly above. I may send
home a bookmark that is either a conversation starter or
explains the strategy your child will be practicing. I
appreciate the time you spend discussing books with your
child at home. Please sign or initial the green sheet letting
me know that your child has read and discussed this book
with you. Thank you so much! This reading will count
as their 20 minutes of reading on their reading log!