Tuesday, March 3, 2009
It was nice to be back to school today . . . the kids were GREAT! Which was nice because I was sick over vacation and I’m still under the weather. So . . . what did we accomplish today?
- Seating changes . . . Students arrived this morning to new seats. Not everyone moved, but many did.
- Spelling this week will be NIFTY FIFTY words. Students have 36 words to work with this week, however 22 of them were on the last nifty fifty test and all have been on spelling lists this year. We focus on word parts: prefixes, suffixes and root words to help us spell them. Prefixes change meaning, but are usually just added to words and suffixes often require a spelling rule to add to a base word (ex. change y to i and add er).
- Before vacation, students wrote an on-demand report about arctic adaptations . . . . they were great first attempts!!! Today we looked at the prompt more carefully and discussed how kids can plan effectively. We will have at least one more on-demand report this year!!! FYI: On-demand writing requires students to write an ESSAY from a prompt without teacher help. It is an authentic reflection of a students’ independent writing.
- We started JOURNAL 2 today in math. Everyone was excited to have a brand new book. Nothing beats a new journal!!! We are started a fraction unit today. Today’s lesson was easy and kids should be able to complete homework fairly easily.
It is so hard to believe it is MARCH. We still have so much to do.
