In reading, we have been focusing on getting to know the characters in the stories we read. Through our recent read-alouds, Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon and Clementine, students have been learning that there is much more to a character than what we see on the outside! We are practicing looking closely at a character’s actions, thoughts, feelings, and dialogue to make inferences about what the character is like on the inside. Students are learning to identify internal character traits, such as being brave, thoughtful, curious, determined, or kind, and explain what in the story makes them think that way. My goal is for students to become thoughtful readers who can connect with characters and understand their personalities, motivations, and feelings. I am encouraging them to use specific details from the text to support their thinking rather than simply naming a character trait.
We have also been busy building our writing and grammar skills! We reviewed the four types of sentences and practiced recognizing and using each type in our own writing. We have also been working on writing complete sentences with complete subjects and predicates, making sure our thoughts are clear and make sense. Another area we have been exploring is conjunctions. Students learned how words such as and, but, and so can help us connect our ideas and make our sentences more interesting. We have been practicing using conjunctions to expand our sentences and add more details to our writing. My goal is for students to move beyond short, simple sentences and begin writing in ways that help their readers understand their ideas more clearly. We will continue to practice these skills as we work toward becoming stronger, more confident writers!
Our mathematicians have recalled how to use a variety of math tools to solve problems, tell time to the nearest minute, use math models to calculate elapsed time, and have also developed multiplication strategies. We will finish unit 1 early next week, and our test will be Thursday, October 8th. The students will participate in a self-assessment and review prior to the test, and as we get closer to the unit’s end, I will encourage students to bring home their study guide for review of the material as well.
Caring, Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, Courage, and Fairness are the key citizenship-building qualities our students have been studying in social studies. We’ve developed definitions for these traits, noted where we’ve seen them in action, and awarded citizens who should be recognized for these great qualities. In addition to our studies of citizenship skills, we’ve also read a few issues of our Scholastic News subscription and learned about many interesting topics! Each issue has taught the students about important current events and social studies lessons with articles and activities that develop their reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. We are also brushing up on some map skills in preparation for our studies of the Northeast region of the US.