We are officially half way through the school year! The students are all so excited to be closer to being fourth graders! We will continue to work hard each and everyday for the second half of our year.

Reading: In reading, We read the main selection Seeing Stars. Students explored this expository text while looking at text features such as headings, key words, diagrams, photographs, and captions. We discussed the importance of text features and applied this skill in small groups. Students enjoyed reading this text about our solar system! This week, we will be taking our STAR Reading assessment. For this reason, our reading lessons this week will focus on our expository writing pieces and reviewing key skills in small group.

Writing: I have been conferencing with many of the students about their progress with their expository pieces. They are writing “how to” pieces to explain how to play their favorite outdoor game.The students are working hard to organize their thoughts into five paragraphs and use sequencing words. Our goal is to have these finished by January 31st.

Math: We ended our unit on geometry. Students focused on classifying polygons and describing their attributes. We looked at different triangles, quadrilaterals, and parallelograms. On Friday, we took the Quarter Two Assessment. Students were tested on ordering numbers, polygons, and multiplying a one digit number by a multiple of ten. Looking ahead, we will begin our unit on fractions after the three day weekend. On Thursday, we will be taking our STAR Math assessment.

Social Studies: Students are working in groups to complete their presentations on urban, suburban, and rural communities. Outside of the group presentation, students will be writing an essay using the research they have collected. The presentations and essays will be due at the end of next week.

Odds & Ends:

January 20th: No School

January 28th: Report cards go home

February 5th: Early Dismissal

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Thank you,

Miss Gentile