It's hard to believe that Halloween is almost upon us! We've enjoyed some fun class meetings this month that had a Halloween flair! In fact, today we decorated virtual jack-lanterns and did a gallery walk to view everyone's creations!  Next week, we're heading full speed into November and starting to wrap up Trimester 1. It's crazy to believe that we're almost through a third of the 22-23 school year! Included in this update, you will find the family letter for our upcoming unit in math on place value and decimals, which we just started at the end of this week. 

Here are the targets we are currently/planning to work on throughout the next couple of weeks:

Literacy

This week, we started reading a nonfiction text titled Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles. This text highlights the details and impact of various explorers' expeditions throughout history. As we read the text, we are working on identifying the author's main point/s while determining reasons and evidence as support. To practice determining the author's main point/s, we ask ourselves, "What does the author MOST want us to know or believe about what was written?" We will continue our work on this learning target using various texts.

Writing

We have been continuing our writing on the positive effects of cellphones for children in school. After collecting and organizing their research, students have been working to draft their extended response. During instruction, they were guided through the process of writing an extended response, which includes an engaging introduction, well-supported body paragraphs, and effective conclusion. When students have completed a rough draft, they will work on revising and editing their writing, making sure that they included all necessary components of an analytical response. 

Math

We wrapped up our second unit, which focused on adding and subtracting fractions, and we have started our next unit on decimals. This unit includes building students' knowledge of place value, powers of ten, reading/writing decimals, and adding/subtracting decimals. Although a portion of this unit is instructed in Trimester 1, the learning targets will be reported out on the report cards for Trimester 2. In Number Corner this month, we've been weighing two carrots regularly to collect and plot data onto a double line graph. Both of our carrots have drastically changed in appearance and weight since the beginning of the month! To extend our investigation on the carrots, we decided to put them back into water to see what will happen! Be sure to ask your student about how the carrot changed after submerging it in water! Today we played a fun game called "Eyeballs in the Cauldron" which combined action and fraction skills! Be sure to ask your student about it!

Social Studies

During our first unit, we have been engaging within inquiry-based learning by participating in discussions and research. We've been focusing on the essential question, "How does a relationship to the land shape culture and way of life?" by learning about Native American tribes based on cultural areas and regions. Within groups, students were tasked to collect information and create a slideshow presentation on how different aspects of Native American life (e.g. food, shelter, tools, clothing, etc.) were influenced by the environment they inhabited. Groups are starting to present their presentations to their classmates in order to share their knowledge and practice their oral language skills.

Upcoming Events

• Friday, October 28 - Wildcat Wizardry PTO Event (@ 6:00-8:00 PM)

• Monday, October 31 - Halloween Parade & Classroom Parties

• Tuesday, November 1 - PTO Special Lunch

  Thursday, November 2--50th Day of school! Dress in your best 50's clothes!

  Friday, November 11 - Trimester 1 Reporting Period Ends

• Friday, November 11 - School Spirit Day (PJ Day)

Friendly Reminders

• Please remind your student to charge his/her iPad and Logitech Crayon every night

• Please remember to send your student with a healthy snack - nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

• Please continue to have your student practice their multiplication facts up to 12

• If your child participates in orchestra or band, please remind him/her to bring their instrument on their lesson day