Update March 1, 2014

Dear Families,

NEEDED: We need a lot of pennies for our bridge building competition that we will be holding this Wednesday and next Wednesday in class.  We will be building beam bridges and testing their load with pennies! Please bring some pennies that you are willing to donate to the cause if you are able to do so. I have the rest of the needed supplies.

Walking Field Trip to Library: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Sign up to walk with us at 11 am http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4BAFAA2BA5FB6-walking
Your child will need a sack lunch this day!

What an amazing week we had! On Thursday and Friday we learned all about bridges and build bridges out of  noodles and lasagna noodles. Then we tested their load and broke them to learn more about engineering. We will continue this coming Friday with another hands-on experiment about bridges.

I have quite a few pictures that I'll be putting up in the classroom in the next few weeks!

In reading, we continue to work on our novel groups as well as non-fiction reading. This last week we read about all sorts of African-American inventors. Ask your child about what they learned about regarding ice cream scoops, light bulb filaments and potato chips!

In math, we continue to explore fractions. I apologize if the homework was a bit challenging this last week (which it was for many students).  In particular, the math was a bit hard in packet B and D. This week should be better! In the future, if you feel like anything is too hard, feel free to write a note on the packet for me.

In spelling, we continue to work on our spelling rules, dictations and high frequency words. You may have noted that we have taken a break from spelling tests. Instead of giving students words to study, I am assessing students weekly on words that have been taught, but not necessarily "studied." This way I know what students are learning and able to apply. Let me know if you have any questions about this or would like links to some research articles about spelling.

Finally, please check out some of the student writing on the blog.  Your kids would love to share with you some of their writing and read some feedback too!

Have a wonderful week,
Sacha