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Math and Social Studies Updates

Math

Students received their math placements this week. We have started learning strategies to solve our quarter 1 facts which are +/- 10. Flash cards were sent home with the students on Wednesday.  Practice with your child frequently and keep them in the homework folder so we can also practice in school. They will be given 3 facts assessments on their facts each quarter. Next week we will begin our objectives for patterns. Here are some examples of patterns we will be learning about:

( Students will be asked to create, identify and describe patterns).

*labeling repeating patterns:

o o x o o x o o x  - This would be an AAB pattern

*growing patterns:

o   oo    ooo   oooo   ooooo

*number patterns:

20, 18, 16, 14, 12  - this is a -2 pattern

Social Studies

This week we learned:

What is a community?

Objectives: (The student will be able to)
•    Identify and demonstrate appropriate social skills necessary for working in a cooperative group such as sharing concern, care, and respect among group members.
•    Present social studies information in a variety of ways, such as plays, skits, posters, songs, poems, murals, and oral presentations.

Vocabulary/Concepts
community – A place where people live, work, play and solve problems
location – A place
problem – Something that needs to be fixed or solved

Homework, Math and Wednesday Folder Updates

Homework

A September homework calendar went home yesterday. Please see the homework calendar for information on homework as it comes home and we build our homework routines.

Math Update

Math homework started this week. The students are receiving math practice homework from their homeroom teachers. Today, students finished a math pre-test which will help guide the creation of math classes. Math classes are heterogeneous and remain flexible throughout the year to best meet student needs. Students will receive their math class placements next Monday.

Wednesday Folders

A lot of information was sent home in Wednesday folders tonight. Please review and return all appropriate paperwork with the folder tomorrow. Any classwork sent home in the Wednesday or Homework folder stays at home. Thank you for reviewing the folders with your child :)

EXCITED FOR A NEW YEAR!

The 2011-2012 school year is about to begin. I can't believe it! The rush of excitement that a teacher feels before a new school year has set in. In fact, there are a lot of exciting things happening for me this year. 

First, I am housed in a new room! The school renovation plans for this year have resulted in the removal of our portable. With all 5 teachers in the pod, someone had to move into the project room in the back center and that someone was me! I gladly welcomed the change of scenery which includes a window and the opportunity to reorganize. The room is much smaller than any other room in the pod which means I have a smaller class.  I'm excited for this wonderful opportunity to work with a smaller group of students. This can provide many benefits to the students and their learning. We will also be able to utilize the space outside of my room and even areas in the pod for instructional activities.

This year also brings new opportunities for me professionally within our school community. I have taken on the new school position of  STEM representative.  STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. STEM education refers to the incorporation of the learning processes required for these disciplines into activities and projects throughout all subject areas.  STEM activities are inquiry based and foster creativity, and problem solving. Maryland's Mission and Vision for STEM education are below:

•Mission:  Maryland’s STEM education prepares and inspires learners of all ages to contribute to the advancement of the global community.

•Vision:  Maryland’s vision is to be a leader in STEM education, preparing and inspiring generations of learners to meet the challenges of the global society through innovation, collaboration, and creative problem solving.

 I will also continue my position as a co-chair of the Green School Committee or Green Team which will work with the school and community this year with the goal of achieving Green School Certification. 

Also, I will be running these two great projects while continuing my graduate studies in reading. Whew!

Most importantly, this year will bring a new group of amazing students to get to know, teach, learn from and grow with. It was a pleasure meeting some of my students and families at the Open House on Friday and I look forward to meeting the rest of my students on Monday!

Some Notes for Parents: 

* The air conditioning makes our room very chilly! Please send your child with a sweater or sweatshirt for temperature adjustments.

* As a full Title I school this year, we will be serving breakfast school wide in our classrooms. This will start Monday. Any student who chooses it will be offered to take breakfast when they come into the classroom in the morning. The menu is set by the day of the week and includes a breakfast bread, cereal, and milk or juice. Please look for notices sent out by the school for more information.

 I hope everyone stays safe during the hurricane. 

Let the school year begin!

Ms. Shucosky

Scholastic Book Order

The Scholastic book catalogs for January and February are up online. The due dates for orders are as follows:

January Catalog- 2/04
February Catalog- 2/28

Access our online page by using the link on the right!

Math Update

We will be taking a unit test on Graphing and Statistics this Friday the 17th. It will cover reading and analyzing data from a bar graph and a pictograph. 

We have begun learning our "make ten and some more" basic facts for quarter 2. We have covered facts that add 9 and 8. We are learning to solve these facts quickly by making a group of ten. For example: to add 9 + 7 we take 1 away from 7 and add it to the 9 to make 10. Therefore, 9 +7 is the same as 10 + 6, which we quickly know is 16.  A math log went home with flashcards today. It is due on Friday.

Please e-mail me with any questions or post them here. Thank you!

Back to Work!

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving with your families! Here is a preview of our learning to come when we get back to work on Monday...

Math: 

11/29-12/3

We will be continuing our learning of 2-digit addition with regrouping and expanding our knowledge to 3-digit addition with regrouping. We will also be reviewing solving story problems and the many strategies we have learned. We will take our Algebra and Computation test on these skills on Friday, December 3. Please take time to review the homework this week and classwork that comes home to help your child study for their test.

12/6-12/10

We will begin the Analyzing Data and Statistics unit. We will be collecting data and organizing it into bar graphs and pictographs. We  analyze data in many ways. Important vocabulary words for this unit are: data, represent, bar graph, pictograph, analyze, table, tally marks

Home-School Connection: Check out the HCPSS SMART page  for math resources to help your child at home! Click HERE 

Science:

We are beginning our Science unit on the Moon this week! Look for a calendar that will be coming home each night to record observations of the moon phases.  

Home-School Connection: Here is a GREAT site to use to confirm your moon observations  Current Moon Phase

 Social Studies:

We are wrapping up our first unit on communities this week. Here is a fun online game to reinforce our learning of the 7 continents!

Home-School Connection: Geospy Continent's Game

Writing:

We will be learning the components of a friendly letter and writing many friendly letters. Check out the parts of a friendly letter here: Friendly/Business Letter Poster  *Note: In the heading on the top left, we only teach the students to write  the date

Home-School Connection: A great idea to reinforce learning at home!

**Have some fun with friendly letters at home for the holidays! Have your child write friendly letters to their friends and family and decorate with holiday images and colors in lieu of giving a holiday card.