This is the first of my weekly plans. You will find that I will keep you updated by subject area, as to what we will be covering that week. I have done this in the past and it made me a better teacher as a result. Doing a weekly update kept me on target for the year. I was able to better pace myself and use the class time more efficiently. Hopefully, the weekly updates will be posted on Sunday nights, if not early Monday morning(on my website). I will also be sending home a paper copy every Monday.
I will not be listing the homework on this weekly notice only long term assignments will be listed. The children do have a daily assignment book that I will check every day. I encourage you to check their assignment book daily so, you know what your child is expected to do.
One of my goals this year is to make learning meaningful and exciting. I want all my students to be risk takers and active participants in their daily learning. They need to stay focused and use the time they are given to complete their assignments (morning work, class assignments, homework). They are always given ample time to finish all their work. They need to set up a routine, where they can be successful and not be distracted.
Another goal that I have is for the children to become more independent and less reliant on the adults in their life. Fostering independence will be critical in making them life long learners. My expectations for all my students is high. I know with a little help and guidance, they can maximize learning and reach their fullest potential.
I am looking forward to another great year. If you need to contact me for any reason please do so. I believe that open communication between home and school are important facts for setting up and creating a successful school year for everyone.
[email protected] = email
geocities.com/mrl413 = website

Spelling: We will be working on the pages in our workbook that correspond to the "Akiak" The 4 pages are due on Friday. They also have 5 sentences to write on lined paper, using the spelling words. The sentences are also due on Friday. (The sentences need to be done in cursive.)

Reading: We have begun our first anthology story and "Akiak”. this story is about the “Iditarod Race” and how a boy and his lead dog, Akiak overcome many hardships to race in the Alaskan race.

Written Language: We have been working on dictionary skills and how to answer questions.

The steps to answer a question are:
1. Restate the question
2. Answer the question
3. Support you answer with evidence from the story

We will be spending a great deal of time working on answering questions. This skill is of great importance in my classroom.

Math: We have begun some work on place value and writing numbers in different ways. (standard form, expanded form, word form, chart form, and base 10 form).
We will be working on sorting numbers from least to greatest and possibly get into round some numbers this week.

DCR UPDATE: This is an independent math packet that reviews all the concepts and skills we will be using throughout the year. The children should be pacing themselves, 3-5 pages per week. I give them a weekly check on the board and they should be done with page 6 as of Monday 9/12/08. There are 3 packets, one for each term. They need to try to finish one packet each term. They do not need to go ahead. It is not a race.

Application of facts and terminology is key to success in math.

Science: We will be starting our mini unit on Animal Studies this week. This is a simple way to get started in science and we will be organizing information that we learn to help us create a simple project with a report. The simple book report/research on will be done mostly in class, while the project will be done at home. Again, we will do one together as a class so, everyone knows what is expected of them.

Social Studies: Since we are responsible for pledging the flag and raising the flag, we will be spending the next week or so learning about the flag and working through our flag packet.