Webpage 1-29-10
This is our classroom webpage! We hope it is informative and keeps you updated on what's happening at school. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know.
You can email me at: staffordd@royaloakschools.com
Click Here to view the Curriculum Guide I passed out during Curriculum Night. It lists classroom Policies and Procedures including the Redo Policy.
End of the Marking Period
It's amazing to think we're halfway through the school year! This past Friday marked the end of the second marking period. Report cards will go home Friday, February 5th. Make sure your child turns in any redo work before Wednesday. Monday is a records day so report cards will be completed then but they won't be printed until Wednesday so I can make last minute updates if necessary! If you have any questions, just email me.
Join the Club!
I'm very pleased to report we already have 33% of our class in the 100% Club! That means those students were able to correctly answer all 36 mulitiplication math facts in just two minutes! We will continute giving the test until 100% of our students are in the club. You should see them studying with their flash cards, websites, or even some cool drawings we did. The drawings are a way for them to make a visual connection to some of the harder facts. You can help by quizzing your child whenever you have a spare moment. If you'd like a copy of the quiz, just click here. Print it out and let your child take the quiz as many times as they'd like!
Students quickly write down math facts.
Two minutes is not a lot of time, but these students are up to the challenge!
Learning About Germinating Seeds
It's amazing how a simple seed can generate so much interest in our science classroom! From the moment students walk into the classroom and race to the window ledge to check on the growth over night, they are engaged in learning. It seems they can't wait for science later in the day. They have been observing seeds germinating in simple dishes with only water and sunlight, amazed that that process can happen without seeds being buried in soil. We also used balance scales to weigh dry seeds one day and then, after letting them soak overnight, weigh them again and calculate just how much water they absorbed. Some of the seeds were two or three times their original size! Be ready this spring if your child asks to plant a vegetable garden!
Alicia's team makes sure their scale is balanced showing the mass of the seeds.
Realistic Fiction Story Conferences
By now you're aware of the importance of conferencing our ideas with our peers. We use this strategy in several subjects but nowhere is it more important than in writing. This week, students read their rough drafts to a classmate. The classmate in turn listened and asked questions, made suggestions, and commented on what they liked about the story. Our writers have been working on developing secondary characters, including dialogue, and creating satisfying endings to their stories. We'll publish these in a class collection book when we're done. No need to check out Amazon.com, we'll send it home in an upcoming Friday Folder!
Elementary e-Folder
If you'd like a copy of the fliers and notes that go home each week, check out Oak Ridge's e-folder. There you'll find lots of communication that you can read or print out if you'd like a hard copy. Just click on the link below. Bookmark the page so you can get back to it easily.
Study Island Anyone?
With just a click, your child can get some extra practice at home on Michigan Curriculum! If you click on the Study Island link that's on the left of this page, it will take you right to the website where we work on Reading and Math skills.
The log in is:
firstname.lastname@oakridge
password is:
firstname
It's a great way to reinforce what we're doing in the computer lab and it's fun!
Archived Webpages
If there was something you missed on a previous week, I am making links to the webpages that we've already had up. Click on one of the weeks below to find what you need.
You can also check out our past newsletter issues by clicking on the links below!