November News

Parent-Teacher Conferences were held on Wednesday and Thursday, the 5th and 6th of November, and it was wonderful having a chance to visit with the parents of each of my students.  I really enjoyed getting to know both parents and students better.  Thank you, parents for all your support.

Our November Classroom Studies:

We are beginning our study of Colonial Times.  Students will be choosing and reading books during reading about colonists,  some of the important people, and the events of that time. We will also be reading and memorizing the poem about Paul Revere's Ride.  Finally, we will be learning in more detail about the First Thanksgiving. The Original Colonies, how they were created, the struggles they endured, and the results their efforts have on us today will be addressed during social studies. This will include the events leading toward self government and the Declaration of Independence.  Click on this link for a condensed version events leading to the making of the Declaration of Independence and it's importance to us and our classroom.  Our vocabulary will also reflect colonial words and thanksgiving words.

Our writing will not only reflect on colonial life and Thanksgiving, but also will include some fun projects such as "How to Cook a Turkey".  This is a real eye opener and I'm not so sure I would want to eat a turkey prepared the way students describe. Most of you already saw our "Turkeys on Strike".

In math, we are expanding number sense.  We will use number theory concepts to develop/use divisibility tests; prime and composite numbers; and find common multiples and factors.  We will also be working with concepts to multiply by 10, 100, and 1000; multiply fractions and decimals; and divide with a remainder.  We have finished our unit on place value, but for those students who feel they need a little more help please click on the place value link.

In Science the students will be going to Mrs. Taylor to learn and investigate the behavior of magnetism.  They will get to do a lot of "hands on" learning about magnetic fields and the effects of magnets.

Speaking of science, I just found a great little video clip on teachertube to help the students remember what we learned about weathering and erosion in our unit on the Changing Earth. Just click on this link to weathering and erosion.