Welcome back to school! We are so happy to welcome your children into our 303 Family this year. It's been a fun first week of school; we've settled into routines, enjoyed some getting-to-know-you activities, and begun math, reading, and writing. Each Friday we will update this blog to share about our studies and the adventures throughout our week. We will keep you updated on curriculum in the classroom as well as events around the school. Don't forget to read the Historian's Log (to the right), written by a different 303 student each week. We will also start a photo album of our class this year. Enjoy!
Reading: We read several short read-clouds this week with themes of working together, being kind, trying your best, and being yourself. We also talked about independent reading guidelines and general goals for the year. Next week we'll start our first class novel, Shiloh, and we'll begin some of our reading blocks that include independent reading, centers, word study, and read-aloud. I'm excited for a year of great growth and exploration through our reading! Ask your kids about their favorite types of books, articles, or magazines. What do they hope to read this year? What would they like to try that's new? Share some of your favorites with them, too!
Writing: This week we kicked off writing by personalizing our writing notebooks, brainstorming a topic list, and learning about what it means to "free write." We had our first writer's share, during which several students shared their writing to the class and the class offered feedback. We also completed a time capsule of a few of our favorite things. We will open them at the end of the year to see how we've changed and grown! Ask your kids about how they personalized their notebooks and what they wrote in their time capsules.
4th Grade Math: This week we got to know each other by making math about me pendants. I'm excited for you to see them at curriculum night, they look great! We talked about having a growth mindset in math and saying I don't know something YET rather than I can't solve this problem. Each student filled out a math inventory to let me know how they feel about math. We reviewed telling time and other 3rd grade standards to help us refresh our brains. On Friday we took a pre-assessment for our first unit so we can get to work on Tuesday and I will know what the students already know about place value/addition/subtraction. Ask your student about their math inventory and how they rated learning in math.
Social Studies: We will begin our social studies work next week together. This year we will use the first few weeks to talk about growth/fixed mindsets and then we will move into our civics/government units. It's going to be a fun fall with the election in November!
Science: Our first trimester, your scientists will be working with us to study Land and Water and how our Earth takes shape within as these systems interact. We will complete many lab activities that simulate how the land and water interact; it is messy and fun and very interesting! We will work on skills of understanding the scientific process, working collaboratively in groups, recording accurate data, and explaining a process verbally and in writing.
Miscellaneous:
A few handy resources for our first week:
Family Welcome Letter
303 Class Page on our Whittier Site
Mrs. Roskos's email: mroskos@op97.org
Mrs. Roskos's Twitter: @Mrs. Roskos
Mrs. Weiss's email: lweiss@op97.org
Mrs. Weiss's Twitter: @Leslie3weiss
Welcome to Class 303's Blog! Here you'll find classroom updates, helpful links, and information about happenings in and out of our room. ~Mrs. Roskos
