I hope this update finds you well and you are staying safe in our crazy MI weather! I am more than ready to see some sunshine instead of this rain and ice! Yuck!
The students have settled back in to our classroom routine since returning from break, and we are busier than ever! We have learned many strategies for solving multiplication problems. At this stage, your child should automatically know many facts and have strategies in place to quickly solve unknowns. Extra practice at home using online games, flash cards, oral practice, etc. would be beneficial. I have added links to the blog as suggestions for online practice.
Curriculum Update:
Reading: We completed a unit on reading non-fiction text as a researcher. The students learned strategies for finding information they need, and that it is not always easy! Persevering and learning to "skim and scan" for information were just a couple of the lessons learned. The unit will prepare them for an upcoming research report they will be doing in the future. :-)
Writing: We completed a unit on writing literary essays. The students completed reading a book and took notes on traits of the main character. They made a claim about him/her and supported it with different types of evidence from the text. It included an introduction, 2 body paragraphs, and a conclusion stating the life lesson the character taught the readers. Big work! We will be reading and writing a Native American legend next. This goes along well with our Social Studies unit!
Social Studies: We are learning more and more about MI's history. As of last week, the students learned about the first people of MI, the Hopewell people, and the tribes of the Three Fires. We learned about the French fur traders and what happened when the British learned about the trade in MI and took over control of the territory. Next week we will learn about life as a pioneer and what happened in order for MI to become a state.
Math: We began our 7th math unit this week. It covered measuring in mL and L, steps to problem solving word problems and equivalent fractions.
Word Study: The students learned more about prefixes, suffixes, synonyms and antonyms.
Reminder: Spring Picture Day is Friday, April 20. We are scheduled to get ours taken at 11:30.
Have a wonderful week!
