Congratulations!

Congratulations to the following students who have currently made 100% fluency in Reflex math! They are Kerrigan, Nick and Sahil. However, close behind are Chessie,  Gordie, Michael,Keely, Kella, and Cade. They are all in the 90% range for fluency. We have several students who are coming on strong being fluent in at least 80% of their facts. They are Prabhmeeka, Gordie, Addison, Caitlyn, Khamiah, Ryan, Kayden, and Trinity. I have already put those who have mastered addition on to the multiplication games. I am looking forward to adding the other students as soon as possible.

Remember...if you don't use this website on a regular basis, your growth will be very limited. Thank you to all who have embraced this fun way to learn their math facts!

Florida Achieves

Are you ready to sharpen up your reading comprehension skills? I HOPE SO! This is the FOCUS website. First, go to http://www.florida-achieves.com/, log in to the FOCUS side of the website (the right side).

 

Your sign in name will be your last name and first initial (For example, if your name is John Smith, your sign in would be smithj)

 

Once you have your sign in, enter your password which is the number 16, the first four letters of your last name and your birthday day, then month. (For example John Smith, born on January 2nd would have the password of 16smit0102)

 

Once you have logged in, you can choose any link to work on. These assignments align with topics and skills we have gone over in class. They all build reading comprehension. Also, the reading skills correlate with the types of questions on weekly reading tests and on the FCAT.

You can achieve anything you set your mind on!

Upcoming Events

This week we will be begin our Corporate Contribution contest. Save your  Campbell's Soup Labels, Box Tops, ALL Toner Cartridges, and old cell phones to turn in for YOUR Student's Contest & Help your School earn money! 1st Place winning class gets a pizza party. 2nd Place winning class gets a popsicle party - in EACH Grade Level. It will end Nov. 16th so start clipping!

Also, report cards will come home on Monday. Please cut and sign only the bottom portion and return this piece in the unsealed envelope. We'll reuse them each nine weeks so you do not have to lick and seal them. Then, we will have our award ceremony on Thurs. at 9:15 in the Dining Room... no more do your children get celebrated in the classroom! We can't wait to celebrate your child's successes!

 Hope you can attend.

Bunnicula is Born

     For the literary pumpkin tradition at Chets our class voted on the blog to decide which book we wanted to use as our 'muse'. Each class in the school decorates a pumpkin based off of a book. Then, the pumpkins are all displayed in the front lobby until the carnival.
    After polling ended, it was decided to use the chapter book Bunnicula. Each child was a part of this creation. We painted, stretched, glued, and cut to make this vampire rabbit pumpkin. With the help from a few friends in our class, we even had to reread to double check we had his markings correct. You all worked so hard on this and we had so much fun creating him.

We hope to see everyone at the carnival this Thursday from 6-9. At least our candy is safe from him, but watch out vegetables! Bunnicula is loose in the school!

Crow Boy

This week we began writing a response to the book Crow Boy by Taro Yashimo. It begins in a Japanese village, where we meet the main character,Chibi, who is an outcast at school because he is different from the other children. He is very shy and isolates himself. However, this all changes at the beginning of his sixth grade year, he has Mr. Isobe for a teacher. Mr. Isobe saw something special in Chibi, and he helped him show his talent or gift to others.

We discussed many of the important themes this book teaches. Students began their response with a summary and then wrote about this message. Next, students are writing about the changes the main character goes through in the story and his strengths and weaknesses. They have learned the importance of using specific details to prove their thinking and support their claim.

Ask your child about their thoughts on the book and what they have been writing about in class. Also, ask what their advice was to the characters and what they learned in the story.

Vocabulary
forlorn - lonely and sad
trudging - to walk laboriously or wearily along or over
honored - high respect, as that shown for special merit; esteem
graduation - the successful completion of a program of study
attendance - the frequency with which a person is present
imitate- to copy exactly

Sunshine Math...Take the Challenge!

Are you ready to stretch your brain out and get those thinking juices flowing? Well, get ready for the start of Sunshine Math. With so many extremely talented math students, this is a fabulous way to make sure you are constantly practicing and increasing your brain power students!
        A math sheet will come home with your child on Monday. He or she will then complete the problems independently by Friday.  They will not be given a grade and they are not penalized for missed questions. If you get really stuck, it's ok! Just try your best! Students that participate in at least 80% of the program will be eligible for a special luncheon and prizes at the Pavilion.   At the end of the Sunshine Math program, a "Math Brawl" will take place among students at your child's grade level. The winner of the school Math Brawl will go on to represent Chets Creek at the district level.
        What a fantastic way to keep sharpening up your math skills! We hope you all consider signing your child up to participate!

Are you ready to accept the challenge?

 

Writing and Language Arts Learning and Games

The last few weeks we have been reviewing basic punctuation and capitalization rules. We have been working on finding errors in our own writings and editing our papers. Below are some fantastic games to check your learning and skills. Leave a comment below on which you've tried! Super students are constantly sharpening up their skills and testing their knowledge. Be the best you can be!

Create your own story! You decide on characters, setting, and plot. A Dog's Autobiography

Find and fix the mistakes! Proofreading is Powerful

Build a brick wall of mixed up words and form a sentence. Wall of Words Game

Splat and squirt on the correct punctuation mark. Shoot the Mark

WIN a MILLION Dollars! Can you fix the incorrect sentence? What will you do with all your fake money? Million Dollar Punctuation

Welcome to our Blog!

The battle of dogs vs. cats goes on daily in my house as well!

At last, we are ready to start blogging about the learning and activities that have been happening in our classroom the last several weeks. We have been extremely busy cooking up some great strategies in math, reading, and spelling...Where do we start? Well, currently there has been quite a battle going on in our classroom. Between the barking and meowing, I'd say these animals are reading up a storm! Scholastic books have set up a National Reading Contest that we are participating in. For every 20 minutes the children read and log on the scholastic website, they donate a book to children all over the world. Plus, whatever side you have chosen (dogs/cats) earns points. Each day the numbers tend to be rising and these pets sure mean business! They were given a screen name last week and password to log their books. Way to go readers! To read more visit: www.scholastic.com/paws


I look forward to checking on which one of YOU will be crowned TOP CAT or TOP DOG with the most minutes logged!