If you have not yet, please visit http://www.myschoolsystems.com/prairiepride/crest/conferences.php and sign up for a time to discuss your child's progress and see some of the things they have been busy working on lately. If you can not register online please send me an email at jyuska@prairiepride.org or call the office at 848-5280. Conference scheduling will close on Friday, November 14th.
With a chance of snow this week, it never hurts to double check your child's bag to make sure they have a hat and gloves. It also, never hurts to talk about the importance of wearing these items and not taking them off as soon as they are outside with their buddies. Supervisors will not be having kids stay in or sending them to the office to get jackets this year. Students are encouraged to dress for the weather by checking what the sign in the office window said. If there is a picture of a jacket in the window next to the recess location, then we are recommending that students wear the jacket they brought outside.
Here are some of the things we have done lately in class:
Math-We are really rolling with our multiplication facts. Lately, we have talked about how to solve multiplication facts, how to write multiplication facts, how to find patterns in multiples, and how to relate addition to multiplication facts.
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| Pattern for 4s |
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| Pattern for 11s |
We are now getting into how to multiply by specific factors. So far we have learned how to multiply by 0s, 1s, 2s, 5s, 9s (see tricks below), 10s, and multiples of 10. This week we will multiply by 3s and 4s.
Some of the tools and strategies we have used are:
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| skip count by 2s |
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| skip count by 5s |
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| 9's trick #1 |
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| 9s trick #2- you can see it in action in the video clip below |
-9s trick #3 is that your answer (when the digits are added together) will always =9. For example, 9 x 3= 27 (2 + 7=9), or 9x5 = 45 (4+5 = 9)
Reading- We did not have Shared Reading last week due to our Pilgrim unit.
The week before we read Grandma's Records by Eric Velasquez.
Every summer, Eric goes to live with his grandmother in El Barrio, while his parents work. Through the long hot days, Grandma fills her apartment with the blaring horns and conga drums of Bomba y Plena, salsa, and merengue-the music she grew up with in Puerto Rico-sharing her memories and all the things she loves with Eric.
We also used a lot of reading time to work on our District Assessment. We completed a lot of work about questioning.
Writing- We have been busy in the area of writing. We completed a descriptive writing piece about Frankenstein, wrote a narrative about a time we were sad, and wrote a narrative for the District Assessment about a time we were scared, worried, or anxious. You will be seeing some of these writing pieces at conferences.
Social Studies- Our Pilgrim unit is up and underway. We have been working really hard in our new colony to complete tasks and record our thoughts and feelings into our pilgrim notebooks. So far we have had some great discussions about why we left England and what hardships we faced if we stayed. We have also gotten into our ships and started our journey across the Atlantic to America. I love watching how much fun the kids are having with this unit and the ownership they are showing in their journal work. Our Pilgrim Museum will be on Monday, November 24th and Tuesday, November 25th. I will send out times as I know more.
Thank you Karen Urban for some pictures from our Halloween Party. Unfortunately, that was the day my phone decided to break!
Lastly- We have been enjoying the Raz-Kids. To log on go to http://www.raz-kids.com/main/Login
Teacher name: jyuska1
Click on your child's name and enter their new password. They can even record them reading and send it to me! :)
Thanks again for staying up to date with your child's education!
Mrs. Jodie Yuska
