We made it to the end of the 1st Trimester! It's hard to believe that we are 1/3 of the way through the school year already. The students worked hard to make sure they were all caught up before report cards this week. I will be working on grades over the next few days in order to finalize them for report cards.
As we head into a fresh trimester, I would like to make a change in my policy on late work and corrections. For the 2nd trimester, I will be limiting the time that students have to turn in late work and to turn in corrections. Students will have 1 week from the original due date to get in late work and corrections. Of course, students that have been absent will still be allowed the same number of days they were absent to get caught up. As we move from one concept to the next, it is very important that students are staying up to date on practice assignments. Please remember that students are allowed to make corrections on both practice and assessments for improved grades. The only things that this would not apply to would be cumulative progress assessments like their JAM (Journal About Math) and Writing Fluency booklet for example. These assessments are on-going throughout the school year and corrections are not appropriate.
As our busy week comes to an end, here's a recap:
English Language Arts
- The students completed their second personal narrative, and we have begun our 2nd writing unit.
- 3rd graders have been reading personal essays and identifying big ideas and evidence. 4th graders have been doing the same with persuasive texts. Both groups have begun drafting their own personal essay/persuasive text.
- We have been practicing our summarization strategies with nonfiction texts.
Math
- We have been practicing more multiplication strategies, including partial products, lattice method, and the standard algorithm. Students are getting better and better at recognizing how place value strategies can help understand multi-digit multiplication.
Social Studies
- The students took a 2nd map quiz as we wrap up our geography unit.
- We have been viewing and researching physical and human characteristics within the different regions.
- Students also read about and discussed Michigan's natural resources: gaining an understanding of positive and negative consequences of using these renewable and nonrenewable resources.