This week in...
Reading: Students are beginning book clubs. Each student is being assigned to a historical fiction book after giving me their top few picks. Students will do sustained independent reading almost daily while I pull them both individually and in small groups to check their comprehension. It is my goal to meet with students in mixed book groups as well as same book groups so that they might learn strategies from each other. I think it's important to have some opportunity to meet with people reading the same book to see if they have the same "take aways" as each other. Often we see things from different perspectives, so it's important to talk about that. In addition, students will be completing 6 short activities showing what they learned throughout the book. The activities are varied across many ability levels and students will be able to choose activities within their preferred learning mode. All work will be kept and completed at school unless recurring absences or off task behavior creates a need to work at home.
Homework: Read 30 minutes per night including the project on MyOn.
Writing: We are reviewing many grammatical issues this week through editing practice. In addition, students will work up a new prompt this week. On Friday, students in fourth grade at Baldwin will take a second writing benchmark. These scores are usually much more indicative of your child's skills than the first benchmark, as many items that were tested weren't taught at that point in the year.
Homework: Editing practice due Wednesday.
Social Studies: The Texas Revolution began on October 2, 1835 with the Battle of Gonzales. We will explore the various battles including the Battle at the Alamo, and finish with the last battle of the revolution, The Battle at San Jacinto, when Texas won her freedom from Mexico. That date is March 2, 1836. Every March 2nd is known as Texas Independence Day.