Room 222 Review
September 21, 2012
The warm weather may finally be leaving us. I can’t decide if
I want it to get cooler or not. But change, I guess, is
inevitable. Things are changing a bit at school too. MAP
testing is over (Hooray!) and we are finally able to follow a regular schedule.
The kids are doing a great job transitioning between teachers and classrooms.
We are so impressed.  Here is a peek at what we’ve been working on this
week.
Math: The 4 graders just completed their first unit test this week. You should
receive a copy tomorrow in your child’s Friday Folder. They are currently
working on Unit 2: Using Numbers and Organizing Data. Concepts include
place value, data analysis, and addition and subtraction review. The 3 graders
also took the Unit 1 test this week. Results will be shared shortly. They have
started Unit 2: Adding and Subtracting Whole Numbers. I don’t think I need
to tell you what concepts will be covered. 
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Reading: Our reading skill this week is identifying the main and idea and
details in non-fiction text. Both groups of students are reading stories about
ecosystems and animals. The kids find this skill a bit difficult so we will be
doing a lot of review in our reading classes and acceleration groups.
Writing: We just finished our first “Publish It” activity of the year. The
students have been writing, writing, writing every day. I asked them to choose
one piece that they wanted to publish. We spent some time talking about how
to add ideas and details to a piece and what “revising” really meant. The kids
had the opportunity to have a revise/edit conference with a partner. I didn’t
interfere too much with the final versions of their papers. Please take a few
minutes to read your child’s paper (hallway) when you visit during conferences.
Next week Ms. Wessling and I will be assigning the writing topic. We are going
to review elements of personal narratives and lead them through the writing
process (brainstorm – publish) once more.
Social Studies: We have completed our map unit in social studies. This week
the kids worked with partners and completed some map review work. We
covered political, physical, elevation, rainfall, grid, and product maps. Whew!
We definitely liked the grid and product maps the best. We are now moving
forward to the “meat” of our program. Next week we will start talking about
“The Peopling of the United States.” (Didn’t realize “peopling” was a verb.)
Kids will learn more about the contributions different ethnic groups made to
our country. After reading, the kids will get to create artifacts that represent the
groups of people and help create a giant United States mosaic.
Science: We are excited to be working with Mrs. Kieya, our Gifted Education
Resource Teacher (GERT) on an exciting new project as part of our
Ecosystems and the Environment Unit. Mrs. Kieya will teach four enrichment
sessions. During the first session she shared a great website with students and
we completed a food chain and food reaction activity. She will share the web
address next week so the kids can visit the site at home. Next Monday she will
be back to help with an activity. I turned all the kids into plants and animals. (I
am grass – why didn’t I pick a carnivore?) We will go out on the blacktop and
create a giant food web. Fun and Yum.
MAP Testing: Fall MAP testing is over. I will share your student’s latest MAP
results with you during conferences. We use the data from this test to inform
our instruction and to set goals.
Conferences: Please contact me if you need to change, cancel, or set-up a fall
conference. Thanks!
Have a great weekend!
SueMeservey@sd54.org
847-357-6245