Post date: Aug 25, 2017 8:49:42 PM
Here is the latest news in Honors!
Classroom Site Funds- Each grade level asks parents to donate to the Classroom Site Fund which are monies that go directly to the classroom. Often, classroom projects and activities require extra funding to make them possible. We ask that each family help teachers cover the costs of these classroom experiences as a one-time donation at the beginning of the school year. These funds will cover the costs of classroom activities including Honors for the entire academic year, with the exception of field trips. I use these funds to pay for my Math Olympiad competitions, Stock Market Game, literature sets, Pi Day activities and prizes, and Dynamath & Scholastic Math magazines. To donate, please go to the PTO website Classroom Site Funds and choose your student’s grade level. Once the grade level is chosen, it will give you the opportunity to add an additional $10 to your donation for HONORS. I really appreciate you supporting Honors at Sonoran Sky! Thank you for your support.
Instagram-I have attached a permission slip for you to sign and write in your username if you agree. Once I have received your signed permission slip, you can choose to follow me at SSKYHONORS310B on Instagram. You must tell me your username so I can accept your invitation. This is where I will post activities and classroom excitement for you. To be clear, PLEASE send the permission slip back if you want to join our Instagram page and give me your username so I can keep a lookout for you when you send me a follow request. I will not follow you. You must request to follow me at SSKYHONORA310B. Questions? Please email me. Instagram Permission Slip
Connecting @ Home Instructions- I learned something new this week! I learned how to make my first Smart Card. I am not a professional by any means and I am still perfecting, but I love to learn. Many of my students and families are not as familiar with Google as others. Your student needs to be able to email me and access their Google apps at home and at school. So I created this step by step guide to help. Your student should be able to sign in ANYWHERE and access all of their bookmarks, Google Classroom, Google Drive, and email. Let me know if you have any questions or feedback. I am continuing to working on this document to add graphics and more information using a new extension but there is some learning curve on my part. Thank you for your support. -Connecting @ Home
Amazon Wish List-Here is my classroom wish list. Mrs. Wilhelm's Amazon Wish List
Our Honors Room Mom- A big thank you to Mrs. Crandall & Mrs. Surguine for stepping up to be the Honors Room moms. Please fill out the email directory so they can keep you up to date on important Honors activities.
Just some light reading…
Five Tips for Parenting a PerfectionistThe beginning of the school year can bring out anxieties as children meet new teachers, new peers, and new expectations. This article by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia offers concrete steps for recognizing and addressing perfectionism in your child.
http://www.chop.edu/news/five-tips-parenting-perfectionist
2. Offer praise appropriately.
3. Flaunt your imperfections.
4. Avoid comparisons with other kids.
5. Know when to seek professional help.
4th Grade Reading
In reading, we have been studying the genres of fiction and nonfiction. We learned how to use the computer to find books in the genre we have chosen and we even had a literature scavenger hunt to practice our genres. We had a test over the genres today. Next week, we are learning the literary elements such as vocabulary, setting, characters, conflict, climax, and comprehension. We will be introduced to our first Socratic seminar and the procedures for participating in one so it is a successful dialogue and discussion with depth and complexity. We are practicing our discussion skills and mind time.
We have jumped into Latin & Greek stems. We have learned over 3 stems. Once we have learned 10 stems, there will be a test. Every time we learn another 10 stems, there will be a cumulative test over the new 10 and the previous stems. We also learned how to make a Quizlet account, and how to use Quizlet to practice those stems! Practice. Practice. Practice.
We have started ReadTheory. The great thing about ReadTheory is the differentiation of content and the nonfiction literature. Reading nonfiction literature is essential to comprehension and building vocabulary skills. Nonfiction reading adds a new dimension to a student’s repertoire by introducing text structures and organization that you do not find in fiction literature. Therefore, each week students will be required to read 3-5 articles from ReadTheory and summarize, analyze, and dissect that article and respond on Google Classroom. We will then have Socratic seminars to discuss that topic.
Lastly, we have discussed the Reading Fair which is the Quarter 1 Book Project (ILR) in class. We spent two days going through the expectations for the Reading Fair. Students are conferencing with me over their book choices and then starting to read!!! Students should be emailing me their book choices by Monday, 8/28! The Reading Fair will be on October 12th from 5-6pm at Sonoran Sky. Happy Reading!
5th & 6th Grade Reading- In reading, we are reviewing the genres of fiction and nonfiction. We have refreshed our knowledge on how to use the computer to find books in the genre we have chosen and we even had a literature scavenger hunt to practice our genres. We had a test over the genres today. Next week, we are going over the literary elements such as vocabulary, setting, characters, conflict, protagonist, antagonist, climax,and comprehension. We have our first Socratic seminar of the school year to see what we remember of the procedures for participating in one so it is a successful dialogue and discussion with depth and complexity.
We have jumped into Caesar’s English I & II. We also reviewed about Quizlet and how to use Quizlet to practice those words! The Quizlets for CE I & II will be on the Google Classroom website and will be updated regularly! Practice. Practice. Practice.
We have started ReadTheory. The great thing about ReadTheory is the differentiation of content and the nonfiction literature. Reading nonfiction literature is essential to comprehension and building vocabulary skills. Nonfiction reading adds a new dimension to a student’s repertoire by introducing text structures and organization that you do not find in fiction literature. Therefore, each week students will be required to read 3-5 article from ReadTheory and summarize, analyze, and dissect that article and respond on Google Classroom. We will then have Socratic seminars to discuss that topic.
Lastly, we have discussed the Reading Fair which is the Quarter 1 Book Project in class. We spent two days going through the expectations for the Reading Fair. Students are conferencing with me over their book choices and then starting to read!!! All books must be chosen by Monday, 8/28. The Reading Fair will be on October 12th from 5-6pm at Sonoran Sky. Happy Reading!
4th Grade Math-In Math, we have learned about the 8 Math Practices and practiced these with new Math Olympiad Problems. Next week, we will be diving into Place Value. Don’t forget about the Math Quarterly Project due October 9th! Students should be working little by little on it. Don’t wait until the last minute!!!!
5th Grade Math- In Math, we have learned about the 8 Math Practices and practiced these with new Math Olympiad Problems. Don’t forget about the Math Quarterly Project due October 9th! Students should be working little by little on it. Don’t wait until the last minute!!!!
6th Grade Math-In Math, we have reviewed the 8 Math Practices and practiced these with new Math Olympiad Problems. Hopefully, your student is coming home and showing you new ways to solve problems. We had our Famous Mathematicians Draft on Wednesday. Students had time in class to research famous mathematicians for their math research project for Quarter 1. Students should be working little by little on it. Don’t wait until the last minute!!!! It is due 10/9.
Math Books are online this year!!!- This year, students will not be carrying heavy Math workbooks around in their backpacks. Instead, your student has access to the online version to complete homework and practice. Please refer to the “Connecting @ Home” Directions to access the Math Workbook. All homework will be written in Math notebook.
Math Olympiads- Did you know you have a MATHLETE living in your house?
Math Olympiad is an international competition where students solve math word problems in a timed competition. They are competing against other students in their grade level around the world!!!! There are individual prizes and team prizes!
“Math Olympiads have been found to:
There are five competitions (NOV., DEC., JAN., FEB., & MAR.) We will be doing practice problems every other week to prepare for our competitions. Math Olympiads are also a way to practice mathematical discussions which we do in class. I never grade Math Olympiad competitions or problems. We correct them in class and I give participation points for attempting the problems and participating in our in class discussions. These problems should not take hours. I tell them to spend 20 minutes on each problem and then move on. If you have any questions, let me know.
Dynamath & Scholastic Math Extra Credit- There will be an option of checking out a Scholastic Math & Dynamath magazines to complete the magazine for extra credit. The magazines come monthly. This extra credit will be added at the end of the quarter to help boost students who are close to the next letter grade.