Post date: Aug 18, 2016 5:35:02 PM
Dear 4th-6th Grade Honors Parents,
Wow! What a week! Welcome to my first of many “email newsletters”.
I have had so much fun getting to know your students. We have spent this week getting to know each other, the procedures of Honors, and taking district benchmarks. These district benchmarks are important because they give me valuable information as to the skills your student still needs to work on as well as what they have mastered. I use this data in my lesson planning.
Webpage- My website is a valuable tool that your student will want to bookmark for reference. Here is the link: https://sites.google.com/a/pvlearners.net/wilhelm-wizards/
Assignment Calendar- On my website is an assignment calendar for your student to utilize should they need to. It will always be updated with the current assignments and due dates.
Technology- Students are encouraged to use technology to review concepts. Students can use Front Row, iXL, Kahn Academy, or XtraMath to practice skills. All of the links can be found on my website.
Room Mom for Honors- I am looking for one mom/dad who wouldn’t mind being the room mom for Honors. There isn’t much to do, other than communicate with me and help me get information out regarding Honors activities. If you are interested, feel free to send me an email. First come, first served.
MATH
Math Quarterly Projects- The best way to apply concepts and solidify learning is to TEACH! Therefore, every 4th-6th grade students will be required to complete a quarterly math project and present it to their classmates. Each student has been assigned their first quarterly project and all projects are due October 7th. Detailed explanations and rubrics have been distributed to all students, but can also be found on my website.
Math Olympiads- We will be participating in Math Olympiad contests this year. Periodically, we will be using our knowledge of the 8 Mathematical Practices to solve these challenging problems. The students generally LOVE these challenges as well as the collaboration with their teammates. We will always do one problem a week in class, but also may take a break from the textbook to practice as well. These problems and competitions are never graded.
In Honors Math next week, we will be jumping into our regularly scheduled classes. This means that we will be diving into our workbook!
READING
ILR- This week, I assigned the Independent Literature Requirement. Students need to be reading 30 minutes a night (5 days a week). Also, they need to be finding a new book to read for their book project. The 4th-6th Grade Book Project for Quarter 1 is a Character Masquerade Party which means they get to become the character in their book. The book project information sheet and rubric went home on Tuesday. Over the next week or two, I will be meeting with your students to approve their book choices and get them started reading. Students must choose a book that is an AR book and is in their STAR reading level. Information on your student’s AR level will be coming home soon with your student. As it gets closer to the due date of the project, we will review the details of the Masquerade Party in class, so that they are ready to present on October 5th. More info to come about that presentation.
In Honors Reading next week, we will be jumping into our regularly scheduled classes. This means, that I will be introducing many new concepts such as 4 Level, Latin/Greek Roots, Caesar’s English, Tween Tribune and our first literature studies as well as literary elements and the rules of Socratic seminars. We will even have our first Socratic seminar to practice!
Looking forward to a fantastic year!