Reader's Workshop -- We love this time of year in Reader's Workshop. In class, we've been discussing how to share books with others. Your children have shared the ways in which they do this already -- through the reading of a Birthday Book, by lending books to friends, trading, or sharing plot summaries with one another. Everyone has had a chance to share a book they love and why, which we hope will expose everyone to new series and authors to enjoy in the coming weeks. Before starting our unit on poetry, we will spend a few weeks enjoying just-right books and reinforcing the good habits of a fluent reader.
Writer's Workshop -- Syncing up with Reader's Workshop, we will shift into writing poetry after our realistic fiction stories have been published. Last week was designated to editing and publishing the stories that we have all been working hard to finish, and we look forward to celebrating these stories soon. We are continuing to publish stories through this week, but will be sure to send home books temporarily so you can celebrate your young authors at home! However, we do ask that you return these books to the classroom so students can add them to end of year portfolios.
Word Study -- Last week, we completed a group activity during Word Study that focused on suffixes and how to appropriately add a suffix to a base word. Ask your children about the 1-1-1 Rule, the 1-2-1 Rule, and the 1-1-2 Rule. See if they can explain this spelling strategy to you! This week, we are beginning new sorts across the board. We will work with these sorts for two weeks, and will plan on having an assessment the first week of May.
Math -- We are working with BIG numbers in here, and you will see evidence of this on the End of Unit Assessment coming home at the end of this week. As always, we ask that you review the assessment with your children and return it, signed. Our next unit will focus on measurement, which will be a nice change of pace from story problems and place value.
Science -- We love the excitement everyone has around science! Our unit on matter is off to a good start and soon we'll be incorporating some experiments into our schedule. We are always so grateful to Mrs. Rudisill for welcoming us into the Middle School Science Lab and will post pictures of experiments that take place over the coming weeks. Thus far, we've learned about the three different types of matter and how they behave based on their molecule make up. Next up, we'll be learning about mixing matter and how matter can change states. All of this knowledge will be reinforced with a visit to Discovery Place on Tuesday, May 9th, where we'll participate in a class all about matter.
Social Studies -- Our study of communities lends itself well to conversation about Trinity and Charlotte, and we've discussed rural, urban and suburban communities. We'll soon take a look at maps, which will hopefully prepare your children for wherever summer takes them!
Lastly, take a look at what's in store through the end of April and for the beginning of May -- and as always, let us know if you have any questions or concerns. April showers bring May flowers...
Reminders for the Upcoming Weeks:
- Thursday, April 27th -- All TES to Beauty and the Beast at Pease Auditorium
- Wednesday, May 3rd -- NUTS Day to support Trinity OM Teams!
- Wednesday - Friday, May 10 - 12th -- Spring Book Fair
- Thursday, May 11th -- Spring Arts Festival
- Friday, May 12th -- Grandfriends Day!
