Donaldson, Latirah

In class, we will be working on:

Our October reading goal is 36 steps! Students should try to read 2 steps nightly at home. Remember each step is 15 minutes. Please remember to have your child log their time.

Reading - We will continue our first unit - Interpreting Characters. Students will continue to learn the strategies of engaged readers. In addition, during this unit, we will be working on four important ideas of fiction: character traits; character change (characters can and often do change in stories); part-to-whole relationships (how one part of a story relates to the whole story); and finally theme. (what did the author teach you about life?) Our whole class read-aloud is "Tiger Rising" by Kate DiCamilo. This award winning novel has some incredibly interesting and complicated characters, and students are loving it. Students will apply their new strategies to their independent reading.

Writing - Our first writing unit is "writing realistic fiction". Over the next several weeks, students will be creating a character and plot to write an entertaining realistic fiction story.

Math - We recently began Topic 3: Multiply by 1- digit numbers. Students must know their multiplication facts. All it takes is 10 minutes at night. Memorization of facts frees up all of their working memory so that they can concentrate on the bigger task - solving the real problem before them. It is never too early to pick up a set of multiplication flash cards from the dollar store and start practicing.

Nightly student job responsibilities: 
Read 2 steps (a total of 30 minutes) and get log signed.
Study spelling words 
Complete math worksheet and study fast facts. 

Some important upcoming events: