This is my favorite time of year to go check out Garage Sales! People are always getting rid of great "stuff!" If you go garage sale-ing please be on the lookout for items that would be of help in the classroom. Please be on the lookout for the following:
- Young adult novels and other books--multiple copes of novels (in good condition) are welcome.
- Storage containers
- Baskets--any size, really
- Other organizers
PLEASE save and send in large applesauce, pickle, spaghetti, or other glass jar. Any large jar with a screwtop lid will do. We will need 25 total jars for a science activity at the end of May and we can only do this project if we have enough jars for everyone! Please remove labels and wash...thanks!
April is Poetry Month
Throughout the month students will be reading, writing, and listening to poetry! Watch for "locker poetry" about spring break. These will be up by the end of the month.
Students are also randomly assigned a day to find a great poem and have it ready to share with the class. After listening for several days we will try to emulate a style of poetry and write our own!
New Literature Groups are Forming
Students voted and are starting new novels this week. As we do so, we will continue to refine the reading and comprehension strategies we've learned throughout the year. Most recently students learned more about Point of View and Conflict. We've also been studying the comprehension strategies of synthesizing and inferring while reading. These strategies are what help to make students reflective readers. Thinking, contemplating, doubting...we want our children doing this as they prepare to enter middle school! A large amount of middle school reading is non-fiction. These strategies are useful as students read more and more of this type
of material. They also help with the typical English class novels and other reading that students will be reading in middle school.
Mr. Edwards and I really enjoy reading with the kids. They are often incredibly insightful and we find many of their comments to be surprising and occasionally downright funny!
Spelling
When spelling lists come home, please take time each week to review not only the spelling of the weekly word list with your child, but also the meaning of the individual words. Students may know how to spell a word, but not have a clue as to it's meaning, part of speech, or etymology. If the spelling is going well, focus study time on these other areas!
April Classroom Calendar
It's not ready yet..sorry! I will post it here and send home a hard copy by the end of the week.
Upcoming Field Trip
We are taking one more field trip this year. We will going to Trillium Haven, a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm in Jenison. A date has not yet been set. When we have a firm date we will send home a permission slip and more trip details. Preference will be given to chaperones that have not yet had the opportunity to attend a field trip with us this year.
Have a wonderful week!
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