September 5, 2008

Greetings,

Updates:  We have a new classmate.  Welcome, Jenna!  We are so glad to have you in our class!

Reading:  This week we worked on identifying the setting, characters, problem and solution of a story.  Good job, class!  I have sent an AR update in your child's folder.  The expectation is to earn a minimum of 5 points by the end of the 9 weeks (October 10th) for admission to the movie and a treat.  If a child earns 10 points (an additional 5 points) they will receive an additional movie treat. Each child has an assigned reading zone that I continually adjust based on their performance. Each book has a possible number of points that can be earned; the accuracy on the comprehension questions determines how many of those points are earned.

Math:  We have been working on problem solving through our exemplars.  This week we started working on charts, graphs, tables, venn diagrams, and tallies.  Thank you so much for supporting the addition timed tests.  You could really see that the class had practiced by how they tested today.  They were so proud of themselves. It was pretty evident that practice pays off.  THANK YOU!

Language Arst:  I am taking the class through a list of capitalization and punctuation rules.  It's one thing to be able to identify a rule and another to be able to apply it.  It's getting a little less painful.

Social Studies:  This week we worked on identifying the five regions of Georgia and noting specific attributes of each region. 

Science:  Next week we start Science with Mrs. Dess.

Snacks:  Please check with your child about his/her snack.  Some kids have been telling me that they only had a very small snack...

Homework:  It is really helpful when you check over the homework with your child   Sometimes it takes that one-on-one correction for them to process the mistakes.  It is really helpful if you can help them check over their stories for spelling.  If you help them with a spelling word, you can make a list for me at the bottom.  I add words that were misspelled in their daily writing to their individualized lists.  Thank you for supporting the spelling homework.

I can already see big improvements in your children, and I believe your support has been instrumental in that progress. 

Take care and thank you,

Mrs. Kantor