We are beginning the second nine weeks of school now. You may see an increase in homework, though it is never our intention to bombard the kids with too much to do. We understand that you want and need family time at home as well. When you find that your child does not have much homework, you are always welcome to have your child read out loud to you, have a conversation with your child about what they are reading and ask higher level comprehension questions to get them really thinking. Have your child research something he/she has been interested in. Students are always encouraged to access Google Drive and create papers and presentations. Students have a whole sheet of passwords in their binders with access to all sorts of online sites they can read and study. The possibilities are pretty endless.
As the work increases, so does the responsibility. We've been talking with the kids about looking at the list of To Dos on the board or in their agendas and really thinking about what they could/should be doing during homeroom or down time rather than just reading a book. Working ahead and catching up are wonderful ideas. Taking time to look over work and seeing how it can be improved before turning it in is another great use of time.
This week in social studies, students are continuing on their individual research project on Native Americans. There are projects on many levels from which students can choose so that they each have just the right challenge. Students identified as GT in LA or SS will be expected to choose from a small selection of projects that involve a higher level of thinking and planning.
In Reading we have moved past biographies and are now beginning an author study. This week, our focus is on Chris Van Allsburg. Students are learning to look for patterns among his many books including character traits, theme, common problems and solutions. They are learning to make inferences from his words as well as illustrations.
In Writing, the final draft of the Recess Rule persuasive composition is due Friday. Many students have finished or are finishing in class. If your child chooses to type the final piece on Google Drive and share it with me, that is fine. Otherwise your child has opted to hand write the final draft. As discussed and practiced in class, the paper should have a title, name and date, and should be made up of paragraphs. We've talked about this and it has been modeled many times. In addition to the final copy of that paper, students are working on drafts of their biographies from the interview homework. So far we have only worked together on the introduction and early life. And finally, in and among all the writing we are reviewing parts of speech. This week we are working on adverbs and prepositions.
Sorry, that was a long one. I hope you all have a great week!