So much is going on. Last week the students finished great reading projects. They were given the opportunity to design their own objective and choose and create their own projects. We shared this this week. We had lots of game boards as well as icon "fortune tellers", posters, flipbooks, pop up books and more. The students had to use the icons of depth and complexity as well as thinking skills in their objective. Great fun. I'm saving them for the moment, you'll see them at open house.
The fourths are still in Chapter 10 of the math book and doing quite well. Their book reports are due on Friday. We'll share them, but not formally. Kids will simply get a chance to talk about what they have. They are finishing up narratives in wrting and will be reading the story "Heat Wave". The spelling words for that are up on SpellingCity.
The fifth graders will do some testing this week. They will have the Wordly Wise test for Lesson 10 on Monday. It was supposed to be last Thursday, but they were able to bargin for some more time. They will have a math test on Chapter 7 on Thursday, and a Science Test on Chapter 1 (cells) on Wednesday. I feel they will be well prepared.
As the year goes on we are encountering social issues in the classroom. These happen sometimes at recess and sometimes in the room. It is happening in both my fourth and fifth grade groups. Because of this, I am sending home "Incident Reports". When a conflict occurs between students they fill out the report. This gives me time to review it carefully,and talk to those involved. It also gives them an outlet when they are angry or frustrated. These reports will come home to you, to be reviewed,signed and returned. Most often these are social problems that I cannot solve for them. But increasing communication between the class and home may help.
The kids and I have talked lately about how when a person feels threatened (either real or perceived) their higher functioning will shut down and they will go on survival mode. This is called "downshifting". When someone is "downshifting" they won't easily learn new algebra concepts.
Because of this "downshifting", keeping the kids feeling safe, emotionally, physically, and socially, is important.
Have a great week everyone.
Mrs. McElroy
The fourths are still in Chapter 10 of the math book and doing quite well. Their book reports are due on Friday. We'll share them, but not formally. Kids will simply get a chance to talk about what they have. They are finishing up narratives in wrting and will be reading the story "Heat Wave". The spelling words for that are up on SpellingCity.
The fifth graders will do some testing this week. They will have the Wordly Wise test for Lesson 10 on Monday. It was supposed to be last Thursday, but they were able to bargin for some more time. They will have a math test on Chapter 7 on Thursday, and a Science Test on Chapter 1 (cells) on Wednesday. I feel they will be well prepared.
As the year goes on we are encountering social issues in the classroom. These happen sometimes at recess and sometimes in the room. It is happening in both my fourth and fifth grade groups. Because of this, I am sending home "Incident Reports". When a conflict occurs between students they fill out the report. This gives me time to review it carefully,and talk to those involved. It also gives them an outlet when they are angry or frustrated. These reports will come home to you, to be reviewed,signed and returned. Most often these are social problems that I cannot solve for them. But increasing communication between the class and home may help.
The kids and I have talked lately about how when a person feels threatened (either real or perceived) their higher functioning will shut down and they will go on survival mode. This is called "downshifting". When someone is "downshifting" they won't easily learn new algebra concepts.
Because of this "downshifting", keeping the kids feeling safe, emotionally, physically, and socially, is important.
Have a great week everyone.
Mrs. McElroy