October Updates

Tom's Mom

Abdiel's Mom

 

Substitute  - 10/16

Field Trip - 10/17

End of Quarter - 10/25

Dolphin Dash - 10/31

 

If students miss time due to illness or family emergencies, I will send work home in an orange folder. I will use orange so it stands out as a different color from their other take home folder. 

 

This week we had an awesome discussion about Willy Wonka and his intentions. Roald Dahl puts very interesting hints throughout the book indicating that Mr. Wonka expects the kids to fail. Students identified various moments, some that I missed! They had a vocabulary quiz and occasionally include some of the words in their writing. We had Story Fest where students were able to read each others Amusement Park narratives and leave compliments. In Social Studies we finished our Unit 1 assessment. Students made a brochure that shows their learning of the materials in Unit 1. 

 

Library Day is Friday - students are encouraged to bring their books back when they are finished reading them so they can be processed in the Library. 

 

October 16th - Substitute 

October 17th - Field Trip

October 25th - End of Q1 (WHAT?!)

October 31st - Dolphin Dash

November 1st - Substitute (wedding - not mine)

November 4th - Conferences

November 5th - No School - ELECTION DAY!

 

This week we read chapters 21-25 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We are continuing to read the book through the lens that Willy Wonka read all of the newspaper articles about the winners. Is Roald Dahl leaving clues that Willy Wonka is tempting the kids on purpose? Was the gum that tastes like a meal meant to tempt Charlie as well as he is hungry and poor? Why does he speak to Charlie differently than the other children? When Veruca goes down the chute, Willy Wonka 'expects that somebody will be waiting for her.' They are doing an excellent job looking for clues among other things like juicy words, cause and effect and author's purpose. 

 

In writing this week we spend the week on adding quoted dialogue to a paragraph. We watch a brief video and then summarize the video, inserting an expert quote. We will use what we have learned about the elements narrative writing next week to make a comic. 

 

We finished Unit 2, Lesson 1 in Social Studies. Students learned about adapting to an environment this week. How did people in Chicago adapt to climate long ago versus today. Next week we will spend some time on Hispanic Heritage month with culture and important Hispanic American citizens. 

 

 

10/31 - Dolphin Dash 

11/1 - Substitute 106

11/4 - Report Card Pick-up

11/5 - No School Election Day!

 

This was a unique week. We did not have school Monday, I was off Wednesday and we had an awesome field trip Thursday. The students were so great on the field trip. They really represented Decatur in the best way possible. The symphony was wonderful!

 

While in school we used what we learned with narrative writing to make a holiday comic. We also dipped our toes into nonfiction and practiced finding cause and effect. The students learned about Día Des Los Muertos and had the option to color sugar skulls. We practiced finding which version (there, their and they're) to use in a sentence. This was a bit tricky last week so we practiced it this week. We also did a sort with /oo/ words and 'oddball' words.

Upcoming Events:

Library - Fridays!

Dolphin Dash - 10/31

Report Card Pick-Up - 11/4

No School VOTE! - 11/5

Progress Reports -11/22

Thanksgiving Break - 11/25-11/29

 

We had a great week wrapping up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Students are able to bring their books home. We had a final novel discussion where students shared great insight. Questions like, what would have happened if none of the kids fell to temptation and stayed on the tour? Would Willy Wonka still pick Charlie? Was he trying to temp Charlie at any point in the story? Some students thought the whole tour was a temptation for Charlie as he was so poor and loved the factory so much. We also wondered what the newspaper article about Charlie finding the ticket might have said and if there was anything Willy Wonka could have used to tempt him.

 

In writing we learned about complex sentences. Students learned to identify a dependent clause and an independent clause and that they need to work together to make a complex sentence. 

 

In Social Studies we learned about how humans change their environment and what effect that can have on a habitat. How deforestation can lead to erosion. Also how introducing an invasive species can hurt a native species. 

11/4 - Conferences

11/5 - No School - Election Day