Learning To Go Mr. Avery's Class on the Web 

 

Thanks for the great turnout Wednesday night! I appreciate the dedication and generosity of spirit you showed as we accompany your children on their respective journeys.

Parent Conferences I was able to create a signup at Signup Genius that does not require a new or existing account from you. Email invitations will be sent out this afternoon: simply click the link in the email, enter an email address, and type your name in one available slot on the signup page. Email reminders will be sent out 3 days prior to meeting.

Fall Festival In lieu of Halloween parties, classes at Floral St. will be celebrating with special crafts and learning centers. Our class needs 2 parents to come in and help by running a crafts center from 9:30-11:00 on Wednesday, October 31. Please email me directly if you’d like to come!

Supplies  A few times during our year, I will be asking for your help with supplies to keep our classroom and kids healthy. If you haven’t yet done so, please send in 1 box of kleenex, 1 tub of antibacterial wipes, and 1 box of bandaids (plain, not antibacterial). This will help immensely!

CORI Background Checks  Do you have a current CORI background check with the Town of Shrewsbury? You can download a form using the link under “Parent Resources” on the right side of this blog! Parents who wish to visit classrooms or even join their children for lunch in the cafeteria must have an approved background check. The process is simple: drop by the Floral school office any school day; bring your CORI form or fill one out there; and present a driver’s license or proof of identity. It usually takes a couple of weeks to be approved, so the sooner you have it done, the easier it will be for last-minute plans. CORIs need to be done every 3 years.

Our Daily 5 CAFE focus this week is on activating schema and making connections when we read (part of Comprehension). These are HUGE strategies for young readers. Schema is what a reader understands about anything in life. We have schema about topics like making friends, seasons of the year, and so on. We also have schema for how to solve problems, and how we approach reading. Sometimes our schema is correct and sometimes it contains misunderstandings, which we learn to correct by reading and thinking. We therefore teach young readers to recognize what their schema is telling them and to use it as an access point to understanding what is read by making connections to it. Questions to ask your child during reading (either aloud to him/her or when s/he is reading): What do already know about ____ and what do you wonder? What does that remind you of in your life? This kind of thinking can help students understand characters, plot, and information better. More info is at Reading Rockets, a terrific literacy site for teachers and parents:http://www.readingrockets.org/article/29200/Also this week, students are being introduced to Informative Writing. This genre gets kids to think about presenting factual information in an organized way, and is one of 4 genres taught statewide. To begin with, students will be taught the difference between fact and opinion; how to craft an introduction and main ideas; how to use an outline to scaffold their writing; and how to write in complete sentences with correct punctuation and capitalization. We tried a fun game from pbskids.org you can play at home on Facts and Opinions! (click on picture to link to page)

In math this week, students will learn how to use place value to order numbers, e.g.: 253; 258; 340. By understanding the value of the digits, it becomes plain how large numbers are in relation to each other. If you’re following along at home, we are in Book A, Chapter 1, Lesson 4. Also this week, students will take their first test!

Homework: 1) Math homework begins next week, 9/24. There will be nightly assignments, M-Th, and 2 optional challenges weekly.  2) Math Facts homework begins the week after, 10/1. This involves nightly practice and a quiz every Friday. 3) Reading homework begins the following week, 10/09. Students read every night and complete a reading log to be returned Fridays. More detailed information on homework will be provided on our blog over the next 3 weeks!