Week 21

Jan 30 - Feb 3

Upcoming Dates

Thurs Feb 9- report cards go home 


Homework

It's a short week, so just focus on Reflex. 

Monday Night



Tuesday Night



Wednesday Night


Thursday Night


Classroom Materials Needed

Students cleaned out their workspaces before third quarter. Many students are in need of headphones, so would you please send your child to school with a new pair that will last the rest of the year. Ear buds usually tangle and don't last, so I recommend ordering a pair from Amazon. Here is a link. They come in 5 colors. We are also in need of extra small dry erase markers. Here is a link if you'd like to send any in.

Writing Share Thank You!

Thank you for coming out to support your children! Research is hard work. Our next writing share will be third quarter. 

Quarter 3 Snapshot.

We will study fascinating topics such as Ancient China, and Greece. We will study the science of soil too. Along with that, many engaging math topics such as diving further into multiplication and division, addition and subtraction with 4-digit numbers, place value of 6 digit numbers, measurement, and adding and subtracting fractions (if there's time). In language arts we will study critical literacy, read biographies, continue to hone our writing skills and write in the narrative style of realistic fiction, and study and reading and writing poetry. I look forward to this quarter of new learning.


Academics (Summary of Last Week)

Math- Students reviewed geometrical figures and polygons. They solidified their understanding of congruence and geometrical patterns.   

Reading- Students published and shared their research projects! They continue to hone their reading, word, and spelling skills with Lexia. 

Word Study- Students are learning the uses of apostrophe. The second use is as a contraction, such as they've = they have. We are also working on hearing the number of sounds in words (called phonological awareness.

Writing- Students published and shared their research projects!

History- Students reviewed the ancient Egyptian civilization and learned how to make economic choices. 

The Purpose of Grades and Progress Reports

The purpose of grades is to  inform you how your child has or has not met third grade standards for this quarter. Grades are meant to show where there are areas of strength and areas of need. A variety of collected information goes into determining a grade. These areas include, classwork, tests and quizzes, quick checks, amount of support needed, and observations, to name a few. Fairfax County has crafted two webpages which I look at simultaneously as I fill out report cards. The first is Grading Guidelines and the second is Progress Report Information. 

Grades should be used as a means of constantly improving, which should be a focus of any educational program. Even students that receive a "4" in certain areas can improve in some sort of way. We must always keep in mind that grades are an imperfect measure, so I am open and welcome discussion about your thoughts on any of your child's grades. Please reach out with comments or questions if you'd like.

Academic Work at Home

If you are looking for academic work for your child to complete when there is a day off school, if your child will be staying home and is well enough to do work, or maybe you are traveling and you'd like to bring some work with them, then here are some recommendations. These are all programs which are done on the computer.