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Seedling Mile Families,
February brings a few more academic assessments into the classroom. Second grade students will be taking the District Reading Comprehension Assessment and fifth grade students will be taking the District Fluency Assessment. During the week of February 25-29, third through fifth grade will be taking the ITBS and CogAT tests.
I know many of you would like to have an active part in helping your child prepare for the assessments. Here are some helpful suggestions to keep in mind.
On the day of the assessment (and the night before)........
Get a good night's rest the night before the assessment. Have a light breakfast and lunch to keep from feeling drowsy during the test.
The most important tip for test taking is to skip difficult items, make the best prediction when you're unsure of the answer, and try all the items.
Don't worry if you are a little nervous when you take an achievement test. This is a natural feeling and may even help you to stay alert.
Review the material. Example: The days before the math testing, review multiplication facts, measurements, time, and story problems.
As always, Seedling Mile constantly promotes reading in the classroom and at home. We continue to update our library to provide interesting and engaging literature for our students. Research shows that one of the most important things you can do to encourage a child's success in reading is to read aloud to children. Teachers do this on a daily basis and we encourage parents to do this as much as possible. Here are some tips on reading aloud to your child. Happy reading, Seedling Mile families!
*Begin to read to your child as soon as possible-no matter how young.
*Try to set aside time every day for reading aloud. You can start with just 10 minutes a day.
*Remember that the art of listening is an acquired one. It must be taught and cultivated gradually.
*Vary the length and subject matter of your reading.
*Stop before the end of the story. Ask your child to predict what he/she thinks may happen next.
*If you're reading a poem, encourage your child to guess what the next rhyming word may be.
*After you finish a story, ask your child to think about how the story relates to a personal experience he/she may have had.
*Ask your child how she/he might have changed the story.
Important Dates to Remember
*PTA meeting/Feb. 5 (6:30)
*Valentine's Day parties/Feb. 8 (2-3 in the afternoon)
*Parent Teacher Conferences/Feb. 11-13 (full school days on the 11 & 12)
*No school due to conferences/Feb. 13-15
Thank you for your continued partnership with Seedling Mile Elementary. As always, stop by the office or give us a call if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great month!
Educationally Yours
Lee Wolfe
Kindergarten News - Mrs. Julesgard
We are kicking off our new month celebrating 100 days of Kindergarten. We will count to 100, draw 100 things, eat our 100 day snack, and read a lot of books associated with 100. Then off to month 7, within this unit we will be looking at the number 10, counting back from 10, exploring two-dimensional shapes, and measuring area.
Will the groundhog see his shadow? That is the question the students will be answering as we enter February. This month also brings us to Dental Health month. We will be learning how to keep our teeth happy and healthy. In Social Studies we will learn how to solve problems. Our month will end as we investigate the properties of paper.
Ms. S, Ms. T , and Ms. U will be helping us learn our letters. Ms. S will talk about her super socks, Ms. T will tell us about her tall teeth, and Ms. U has an unusual umbrella. The new sight words we will focus on this month is it and and in the books Can You See It? and We Like Fruit. We are looking forward to visiting with you and your child during student led conferences.
First Grade News
February 2008
The First Graders will be investigating and recording weather changes during February. The data recorded on their "February Weather Calendars" will be used to complete the "Weather 2 Graphs." We'll compare and contrast the findings from October and February!
Math activities in Unit 13, "Thinking About Addition and Subtraction," will focus on two strategies: doubling and halving. Daily Practice and Problems (DPPs) include items that practice math fact strategies.
The First Graders will become "information finders" when they begin Unit 5 in Language Arts. Dear Mr. Blueberry and Fish Faces, a photo essay, are a few of the delightful titles that we will read.
We'll be working on the trait of sentence fluency during Writers' Workshop: how words and sentences sound when you read them aloud. The First Graders will need to use their ears--as well as their eyes--to learn about fluency. They will learn a catchy poem about sentences from "start of finish."
During Investigation 3 in the FOSS Solids and Liquids module "Bits and Pieces," your child will investigate these questions: How can mixtures of solid particles be separated? How do particles of solids move in bottles? How do you know which screens to use for separating a mixture of solids?
Parent conferences will be student-led, so your First Grader will need to attend with you. I'm excited about having your child share his/her learning journey with you!
February 2008 - Second Grade newsletter
Students are excited about sharing what we are doing at school as we celebrate learning with you at conferences. Our CELEBRATION OF LEARNING is the perfect time to share in activities done by your child at school. In addition to your scheduled conference time, we will have stations set up in the Media Center which will be available for your child to share with you. Feel free to visit these stations before or after your scheduled conference or at your convenience. Your child will be able to demonstrate technology activities, science activities, and a variety of math concepts and games.
I hope that this format will be fun, informative, and provide some time for you to interact with your child in the school setting. I look forward to seeing you and sharing in your child's success!
Children are often fascinated by animals. Second Graders will enjoy reading animals stories to illustrate how we use information to understand the interdependence of people and animals. The story of Stellaluna is fantasy, even though it includes many facts about bats and birds. Authors often include facts in fantasy stories. Balto: The Dog Who Saved Nome is even more amazing than they may realize because it is a true story. Writing which tells about real people, places, and events is nonfiction. A story can be about something that really happens but can also have parts that are made up. Ibis: A True Whale Story is an informational fiction story that tells about a young whale who is caught in a net and saved by caring scientists. When the Monkeys Came Back is an ecological fiction story illustrating the effect human beings have upon endangered animals.
Students have explored the volume of containers in the Marshmallows and Containers lab and have investigated the volume of objects built out of cubes in Cube Model Plans. Now we are using graduated cylinders to measure volume. Children will fill and read graduated cylinders. In our our lab investigation students will take several small objects and measure their volume by displacement. The next unit will emphasize subtraction skills. Students will learn to use their Triangle Flash Cards to practice subtraction facts. Children will explore the use of base-ten pieces as tools for subtracting two-digit numbers. Second graders are introduced to a paper-and-pencil algorithm or subtraction of larger numbers while continuing to use additional hands-on and mental problem-solving strategies.
Students will discover numerous ways to balance two-dimensional shapes as we study Balance and Motion. They will use a piece of pliable wire and counterweights (clothespins) to make a pencil balance on its point. We will make mobiles from paper clips, rubber bands, straws, and index cards to apply their understanding of balance, stability, and counterweighting. Hands on experiences make science fun! Can you balance a crayfish on its nose? Now, that's a challenge!
Third Graders
Third grade students are continuing to progress. Their cursive handwriting has seen noticeable improvement.
We are studying sentence fluency in writing. This involves teaching students how to combine shorter sentences into longer ones using connecting words so that their writing is not too choppy and the overall flow is better. It also focuses on beginning sentences in different ways so that the language is varied and their writing develops a smoother tone. In language, we are studying analogies and synonyms.
Reading has been exciting. The school received a new collection of nonfiction books to enjoy. We have read these on a variety of topics including Louis Armstrong, radio disc jockeys, motorbike racers, and forest fires. The students also finished book talks that were presented orally to the class about a book they read. They created posters or other visual items to help present these and share with others what they learned.
The unit on mass was completed in math. The students now have a wide knowledge about weighing objects in grams. We will begin working on multiplication facts. Students will need to have these facts memorized as they are building blocks for all future years of math. Please help your children memorize these.
We enjoyed doing human statues in social studies. Students worked in groups and used props they brought or created to illustrate events in the historical character's life. We all learned interesting facts about many important people in history.
Third grade has started a new science unit on water. We will learn about the properties of water, evaporation, and condensation, in addition to making a thermometer.
Thank you for your efforts to encourage learning at home. It pays off in the classroom. We are looking forward to February and celebrating Valentine's Day. Happy birthday to Cheyenna who celebrates her special day this month.
4th grade news
"Put Your Best Foot Forward"
The fourth graders are moving forward into February, continuing to do their best. Many new opportunities await them.
An excellent place to celebrate their learning so far is parent -teacher conferences the week of Feb. 11. These will be student led, where each child will have a chance to show their growth as a learner.
Our Nebraska history journey will continue with explorers and the then pioneers and settlers. In writing, we turn our focus away from personal narratives to writing legends. We will listen to several Native American legends, including those from Nebraska tribes and then write our own. These legends will be illustrated in the style of Oscar Howe, an Indian artist from South Dakota.
As readers, this class continues to read and enjoy the Golden Sower nominees. Our Reading Counts points keep accumulating as well!
I love to hear them discussing the books they have read with each other.
During Math, we will explore decimals in Unit 10 and then return to multiplication in Unit 11. This time extending the all partial method to 2 digit x 2 digit.
In preparation for our speaking task in March, each fourth grader will begin researching a notable Nebraskan. Students will become their notable Nebraskan and speak on their accomplishments.
ITBS testing will take place the last week in February. It is so important for your child to get a good night's sleep and to eat a healthy breakfast. This helps them be ready to put their best foot forward as they take their tests.
P.S. Don't forget Valentine parties will be on Friday, Feb. 8 at 2:00. Students will need to bring their Valentine box and their Valentines for each classmate on that day.
Fifth Grade News
In Math, we continue looking at "Decimals and Probability" in Unit 7, where we have been working on rounding & ordering decimals; adding, subtracting & multiplying decimals and looking at probability when flipping coins. After Unit 7, we will move on to Unit 8 where students will demonstrate their knowledge of the skills and concepts we have covered so far in "An Assessment Unit."
Students have been studying the effects of slavery in Social Studies, from the perspective of West Africans who had many dilemmas to face. Fifth graders will work in groups to try and decide what the best solution to these difficult dilemmas would be, and then present their ideas to the class. Students will also get to experience Colonial Williamsburg as we take a "walking tour" of that settlement to learn more about the daily life in the colonial Virginia capital.
In Writing, students just completed their research project on a president of their choice. During this project, I was very impressed with student's dedication, hard work and of course their projects. We will continue to work on our 6 Traits by learning about persuasive writing and how to develop our ideas. Our persuasive writing and other writing pieces will help us practice our knowledge of the traits, as we prepare for our DISTRICT WRITING ASSESSMENT in the month of March.
The ITBS tests will be given this month and fifth graders will keep using the Test Best practice tests to review strategies to ensure success on the ITBS. Our READING FLUENCY ASSESSMENT will be taking place during this month as well, and I encourage students to practice reading aloud at home for extra practice in fluency!
We will continue to pick up speed as we coast into the "downhill slide" of the year! I look forward to many more successes in fifth grade!
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