Passion Projects and More!

Lots going on with the Flaming Fish. Here's a longer look at what happened in our school lives this week.

Literacy:

We had our first book club talks. We learned that jotting things down leads to a deeper conversation than just keeping ideas in our head. The goal is to extend our conversations next week. Please make sure that section 2 of your books are read and ready to be discussed for Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Writing Sample:  We have been reviewing, discussing, and practicing the 3 main writing formats this week - narrative, opinion, and informational writing. We have reviewed the writing rubric and writing samples from semester one and made new goals for this time around. The writing sample prompts were discussed in class today and students will begin writing on one on Tuesday. Please see the email from the ES for further information about this writing task.

Math:

We are moving along with our work on math mastery of multiplication facts 0-12. When students master their multiplication facts, they will then move on to division facts. Practicing the basic facts at home will help with this. Some ways to practice are to create flash cards, practice online games, write out the facts several times, etc.

We continue our exploration of fractions. This week we worked with adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers with common denominators. Strategies used include using an area model, decomposing fractions (breaking them into smaller chunks), and adding and subtracting.

Personal Inquiry:

Students are in the research phase of their personal inquiry this week. The primary source of information this week is the internet. They are spending at least one hour a day, and often more, researching and collecting information for their projects. Not only are they researching, but they are monitoring their own learning along the way and adjusting their goals as they go. Mid week next week, we will shift the research to other sources, such as books, interviews, surveys, etc. Keep up the great work!

Parent Teacher Conferences:

Please confirm your parent teacher conference time with me directly through email.

Coming Up:

Feb 8:  NO SCHOOL

Feb 16-17:  Parent Teacher Conferences - School dismissed at 12:00 noon

Feb. 19:  Sports Day

Enjoy your long weekend!