Weekly Updates 1/4-1/8

Happy New Year Families of 3-509!

NEWS/EVENTS

• Next week we are traveling to Circle in the Square to see all student plays performed! 3-509 is visiting on Monday January 11th, and we our plays will be performed from 12-2. All parents are welcome to come to the theatre to see performances. If you are interested in chaperoning please indicate this on the permission slip sent home today.
• If you still haven't had the opportunity to type student plays we have an additional two more days. Your help with this is incredibly appreciated!!! Please email me ASAP if you are unable to type for some reason. 
• Our African Dance residency is starting this week.

HOMEWORK

Word Study Groups:

• Humble- Sort 3
• Determined- Sort 27
• Ambitious- Sort 26

Monday: Write word sorts in Word Study Notebooks, Read and jot for 30 minutes, Math Group HW

Tuesday: Select a menu option from Word Study NB, Read and jot for 30 minutes, Math Group HW, Last day to bring typed Circle Plays

Wednesday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, Math Group HW

Thursday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, Math Group HW, Study for spelling test

Friday: First reading response, Math HW (Sending another email about this later this week)

CURRICULUM

Reading- This week students are continuing to design reading plans with book clubs and are using a variety of "talk tools" to get their conversations moving. We are also using story mountains as a way to predict and anticipate ways our stories might go.

Writing- After creating a variety of "flash drafts" students are selecting their favorites to take through the revision and editing process. This week we are introducing an "opinion writing" checklist as a tool to help narrow down specific parts of essays to zoom into and change. We are also using phrases to connect ideas such as "for instance," or "for example."

Math- Today we launched the start of our next math unit- Multiplication and Area. Throughout this unit students will learn how to calculate area in square units, decompose irregular shapes to determine area, and find the perimeter of objects (sometimes missing the length/width of dimensions).

Social Studies- To accompany our African Dance residency, students will learn about the culture, land, and economy of Nigeria. Students will visit a variety of centers and continue to practice their jotting skills.