Classroom Update

We have been so busy finishing up units in many subjects, testing, and having some fun end of the year activities as well.  Here is a glimpse of what we've been up to:

In Reader's Workshop, students spent a couple of weeks doing nonfiction reading clubs.  They chose a topic they were interested in and spent time reading a variety of books about that topic.  Some of the club topics were: plants, mammals, space, famous people, America, reptiles, etc.  Students read their nonfiction materials through different lenses each day and for a different purpose.  We worked on finding the central message, revising and confirming our thinking about a topic, asking meaningful questions and reading to find the answer, and synthesizing reading by discussing and writing about their topic.  This past week, we began working on some reader's theaters of some of our favorite read aloud stories.  We'll be performing them in class next week.

Students have been working hard on their state reports during Writer's Workshop.  After finishing up our research portion of the state reports, we took a couple weeks to explore writing fiction stories!  This was lots of fun.  This week, we began publishing our state reports in the form of a book!  Students are working hard on their writing and illustrations in their book.  They are very anxious to share these books with you in addition to some other writing projects at our Author Celebration Lunch of Tuesday, June 4th!

In Science, we spent time learning about plants.  We mostly focused on the five parts of a plant and their functions.  We also had our first Environmental Education Festival at WestWood this past Monday!  Students participated in lessons about plants, insects, birds and clouds!  The kids had a great day!

The last couple of weeks in math have been spent learning about multiplication, fractions and probability.  We took our Unit 13 test today.  We will be spending the last couple weeks doing some additional lessons from the math curriculum, however, I will not be sending home homework and we will not be testing on the next unit. 

Just a reminder that May Reading Calendars are due on JUNE 3rd!  If your child returns their signed May reading calendar and has read at least 620 minutes, they will get to join in for a pizza lunch on Wednesday, June 5th!  The May reading calendar can be found on my website if your child has misplaced theirs. 



 

End of the School Year- Important Dates!

The end of the schoolyear is such a busy time with many special events and activities.  Here are some important dates to know as the last couple of weeks begin:

Monday, May 27- No School (Memorial Day)
Wednesday, May 29- Track and Field Day
Tuesday, June 4- Author Celebration (Special Lunch with Parents)  12:30-1:30 or 2:00
Wednesday, June 5- Classroom Cleaning Day (bring a grocery bag or reusable bag to school to bring supplies home)
Thursday, June 6- Last day of school for students!  Students are dismissed at 12:50

Please let me know if you have any questions about the last couple weeks of school!

Author Celebration!

Mark your calendar!!!

We are having an Author Celebration in Room 103 on Tuesday, June 4^th!  Please plan to join your child for lunch on that day if you are able.  We will be eating outside (unless the weather is bad and then we will eat in our classroom).  The kids will go to recess and then you can join them as they come in from recess, which is at 12:30.  After lunch, you will be spending some time listening to your child read and share some of their writing pieces from this school year.  We should be done by about 1:30.  You may bring a special lunch from home or just get school lunch that day.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Hope to see you on June 4^th!

WestWood EE Day Monday!

We are planning a very special event at our school next Monday, May 20^th.  The entire day will be devoted to celebrating environmental education!  All grade levels are planning lessons with an environmental theme.  We will also have naturalists from the Richardson Nature Center here teaching our students. Thanks to the WestWood PTC for providing the funding for the Richardson Naturalists and to our WestWood teachers for planning outdoor lessons for our first springtime Environmental Education Festival.

Your children will be spending the majority of their day OUTSIDE!  Please watch the weather forecast and have them dress appropriately.  We ask that all students wear athletic shoes for safety reasons.  Students should also come to school with sunscreen on and may wear hats.  WestWood cannot provide sunscreen, but a student can re-apply it themselves if they bring it to school.  Students should not share sunscreen with others due to allergies to certain ingredients.  You will also want to send a water bottle to school with your child(ren) that day.

We hope it will be a fun educational experience for all students and staff at WestWood and we look forward to our Environmental Education Festival on May 20^th!