Supposedly spring has arrived, though it is hard to tell from looking out the window. Hopefully some warm weather will dry out the playground soon. Between cold temperatures and a wet, icy playground, the students have been forced to stay indoors for recess far too often.
Thank you to everyone for getting in touch with me about conferences. It was nice to sit down and discuss each student's progress and what we have been studying recently. Here is a look ahead to what we will be covering in the final trimester.
Math - We have begun a rather comprehensive unit on fractions, covering an understanding of improper fractions, equivalent fractions, fractions on a number line, addition and subtraction of fractions, and eventually multiplication of fractions. The next module will then connect fractions to decimals and cover computation using decimal numbers.
Writing - Right now our focus has returned to opinion writing, where students are composing a persuasive essay on a topic that matters to them. Building on the structure we learned earlier in the year, we are now trying to improve our introductions, conclusions, and transitions, while making sure we include a variety of strong evidence to support our opinion statement. My hope is that we will have time to use a short study of poetry to improve our word choice and use of figurative language. Then we will return to narratives one final time before the end of the year.
Reading - This trimester students will learn to use context clues to identify the meanings of unknown words in both fiction and non-fiction texts. We will also revisit how to identify the main idea and how to summarize a text, as these are skills that need more practice. The class will also explore the differences between poetry, prose, and drama.
