Monday P.E. Rain or Shine | Tuesday Out and About to Hagg Lake & Matteson Forest | Wednesday Art | Thursday Outdoor Soccer | Friday All School Meeting (ONESIE theme) |
Calendar Highlights
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I really enjoyed talking with you and your families at your conferences! I was so proud to see you students share and explain your learning goals, and am excited about the plans we made for the year! This ability to set challenging goals is an amazing example of growth mindset (mystery word); we can all continue to grow, if we set goals that we can reach for! Didn't make it to conferences? Look for an email from us with some options about how to hear from your child about their goals.
Homework This Week
- Reading: Read the newsletter Monday, and reading of choice Tuesday and through the week!
- Writing: Spelling. Students will bring home a spelling list on Mondays and have three tasks to complete on binder paper each week. Here's the routine: Monday - sort your words into categories based on spelling patterns. Tuesday - print your words in alphabetic order using your best hand-writing. Wednesday - write your words in complete sentences. Thursday: quiz yourself!
- Math: expect an 10-20 minute assignment each day.
Project
We returned to Fernhill Wetlands this week for our first day of research. The mammal team spotted invasive nutria swimming through the Marsh, the birding crew identified hundreds of migratory ducks and the macro-invertebrate researchers scooped up some Mayflies, Stoneflies and Water Beetles. By tracking the changes in these populations, we hope to get a sense about how the ecosystem is changing. We also learned some valuable lessons about plant identification and interviewed fellow community members who were visiting the wetlands!
Ask, what was the most surprising thing you learned at Fernhill?
Extend the learning by signing up to volunteer at a local tree-planting event!
Literacy
Students learned about theme by brainstorming topics on our first literature circle book (Love That Dog) and creating sentences that started with "The author believes that" statements. After that, they threw these into a basket and grabbed someone else's. They found evidence for the other person's theme statements and practiced defending ideas that were not theirs. This will tie into this week's poetry study in perspectives.
Ask, what do you think Sharon Creech believes, having read Love That Dog? How was the last section of the book?
5th Grade Math
This week, fifth graders took their first test! Didn't do as well as you would have liked? Never fear. In fifth grade, you can take a retest. How it works is that students will get their test back Monday and have time and support to correct mistakes they made. For homework, they will complete a retake and get the test signed. This is a second chance to show us they understand the skill, so please let students complete the retake without support! This week we'll also be starting our Unit 2 on fractions.
Ask: What was the trickiest problem on your test? Why?
Talk about how you picture a fraction in your head. What model do you use?
6th Grade Math
This week, sixth graders worked on multiplying (and dividing) with decimals. They also had a chance to participate in the division games with an eighth grade teammate to brush up on their division skills!
Ask: How is multiplication with decimals different from multiplication without decimals? Do the numbers always get bigger?