Homework:

Mme Jana homework:  The first homework is French vocabulary that we have practiced this week already. A 2-sided purple sheet will come home & need to be transported back & forth every day. I will hand the homework out on Monday, and I prefer that students spend a small amount of time on it each day, just to get into the habit of spending time regularly on homework. My homework should take 10-15 minutes, maximum. If your child is taking longer than that because he/she is struggling (not because they’re doing it slowly or not doing it), parents please sign at the bottom & have them stop. I never want homework to involve tears. This week’s words will need to be written in print, in cursive, defined in French (which they should be able to do because we made flash cards in class), and then parents will give them a spelling quiz on Thursday night. I will fully explain the homework to the students every Monday. Future vocabulary will include commonly used words as well as science or social studies vocabulary.

Mme Shelli Homework: 

Students complete one column of work for each day on their yellow Math homework.  This should be brought to class everyday. Each day, we will correct and discuss any tricky problems together so they can then work on the next problems more confidently. Problem types are a review of concepts that spiral and build as the year progresses.

IF your child has a hard time on a problem, please have them try their best and go on to another problem.  Just like for Mme Jana’s homework, students should work no more than 10-15 minutes.  If your child cannot finish in 15 minutes, please have them stop & write a note letting me know they’ve worked for the allotted time.  

Specials:  PE: Tuesdays & Thursdays  Music: Tuesdays Library: Thursdays

Important Dates:

Tuesday, Sept. 19         Curriculum night (6-8 p.m.)

Wednesday & Thursday, Sept. 20-21      Mme Jana out (French-speaking guest teacher, Mme Rebecca Harlan, who was a French teacher at Roosevelt for many years)

Wednesday, Oct. 4      Walk and bike to school day

Tuesday, Oct. 10          School pictures!

Friday, Oct. 13             NO SCHOOL – State in-service day

Mme Jana’s Class: 

I am sorry to say that I have to be gone on Wednesday & Thursday this next week. My elderly parents are moving to Eugene, and I have to be available to help them with the move & transporting my wheelchair-bound dad. My guest teacher is excellent, and Mathilde, our wonderful French intern, will be in class as usual.

Le français:  Every morning, I give the students two incorrect sentences to write into their French journals. They may work together to make the corrections, then we go over them to make sure we get all the errors, and we rewrite the sentence. I will be collecting about a fourth of the journals each week to make sure everyone is on track, using the editing marks correctly, and following through.

We began a project that will take us a week or so to complete. It’s called, “Moi!” and it’s all about the students, what they like, when and where they were born, their favorite food, etc. It involves writing and art, and when they are complete, we’ll hang them in the hallway. We are also working on spelling and defining the vocabulary words of the week.

We are working on cursive handwriting on the French side this year. Many projects will be written in cursive. It is the American version, not the French one, although we will work on reading that kind of cursive. You will see worksheets coming home. We spend about 15 minutes on it per day, and we’ll begin the French typing program (Tap’Touche) soon also.

Les sciences:  We have begun our science unit, L’Energie (energy), by having the kids do a pre-test. The full unit will probably not begin until week after next since I will be gone two of the days this week, but if I can get it together (lots of preparation), we will begin this week.

I’m enjoying getting to know your children!

Mme Shelli’s Class:

ELA (English Language Arts): We will read and discuss My Brother Martin, a story about Martin Luther King Jr., and other books about people who have made a difference in the world.  Students will discuss point of view, author’s purpose, and the story structure of biographies this week. Again, you can read our stories by following the Journeys link above.  In addition to reading the biography together, this week’s reading & writing stations include:

1) Word study: prefixes & suffixes 

2) Read and report on a biography of students’ choice

3) Read with Mme Shelli about segregation in the American South 

4) Read a student selected “Just Right Book”

Math: This week we jump into our new math curriculum’s Unit 1.  Students will be exploring factors, multiples, prime & composite numbers.  The best way you can help your child at home is to do their homework and to be sure they know all multiplication facts, especially the tricky ones (x4, x6, x7, x8, x9).  I provide challenge questions almost everyday for those students who need/ want more. If you want your child to have more of a challenge at home, click on the Math tab above to find some extension games for September’s math unit. You can read more about our new math curriculum and unit at this link.