The First Full Week Back at School

Hello Everyone,

It was wonderful to see all the students last week, and to start to get to know everyone. Thank you to all the parents who sent in the materials requested. Having an organized classroom helps us focus more of our time on learning!

In this first full week we can leave the organization of materials behind and begin to concentrate on developing strong work habits, knoweldge of routines and procedures, and appropriate English communication. In everything we do I am assessing the students' knowledge and skills, and as a result we will be touching on many different concepts over the next few weeks.

In math we are working with large numbers, and the unit will review the following concepts and skills:
rounding and estimation
reading and writing large numbers
place value, standard notation, expanded form
calculation (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)
and the Metric System.

As well, we will be working on developing strategies for answering word problems fully and completely. Ask you child to tell you what 3 things word problem solutions must have in order to receive 3 points!

In Language Arts I will be reviewing writing skills and reading strategies, as well as developing vocabulary and correct grammar while having the students write about themselves and read books that are a "good fit." It is my intention to individually evaluate each student's reading skills this month so that we can use a guided reading program which is matched to each student's abilites. I can begin to do this as soon as the class is autonomous and responsible enough to work on their own while I read with each child.

Your child will be bringing home a book he or she chose to read, please ensure they ready for at least 20 minutes each night, either aloud to you or alone. When they are reading, we want to make sure they can do three things:
-that they can remember text information accurately
-that they can infer information (read between the lines)
-that they can think critically about what they have read.
If your child has trouble with any aspect of this, it may be that the book they are reading is too hard, or that they need to develop different reading strategies.

That's enough for today! I need to get correcting, but please feel free to comment or ask questions about this post, either by email at napierk@ped.etsb.qc.ca, in a note or by phone. It is my pleasure to speak with you about your child!

Warm Regards,
Kathy Napier