Math: Rumor has it someone tried our "Bacon Mac-N-Cheese" recipe from last night's homework - hopefully it worked out since we were making it up! If not, keep the faith because tonight's is an actual recipe from Food Network! The actual directions on are on the back so the student can work out the conversions on the front...let me know how it turns out if anyone actually makes it!

As for the formative, we seem to be right where we want to be going into decimals...famous last words, I know but it seems like the confidence is there to actually apply their skills to unfamiliar situations which is my ultimate goal. Please look it over and let me know if there are any questions or concerns.

Language Arts: We have moved on from folktales and into fables...things to keep in mind are the lesson/moral in the story, the simple narrative quality, and how animals take on human characteristics.

I only met with two groups today but each had something to build upon...

The Monster Who Grew Small - Tomorrow we will have our first shared inquiry discussion. Today, they worked independently on a response to our focus question in preparation for tomorrow's discussion. After group tomorrow, they will be expected to revise and/or build upon their original response using the points we discussed in group.

The Princess and the Beggar - We had an outstanding discussion today that generated a lot of "I disagree but agree" statements... This ambiguity is the essence of interpretation and really requires us to revisit the text and thus, constructing a deeper understanding. I expect fantastic post-discussion responses tomorrow afternoon!

Adventures of Spider... - I did not meet with them today but their time was spent revising yesterday's response using the feedback from group and in their RRJs. They turned them in this afternoon and should reread their story tonight.

Jenius - Interesting discussion today...after listening to chapter 6 the group struggled to recognize why Jenius was actually playing dead. I adjusted our discussion by building the chapter through a sequence of actions. Through this sequencing, they seemed to get a better grasp of "why" Jenius had to play dead but tomorrow I'll be looking for this in their writing. Tonight they would benefit from listening to and discussing the story with an adult.

Science - Day two of reed instruments and decent discussion with respect to why their instruments made particular sounds. We've been working on including specific vocabulary in both our discussions and our writing and today's activity provided evidence of this...progress is good so I expect to see thoughtful written responses tomorrow afternoon.

Our interest in the science fair seems strong but the follow through is lagging...please get the paperwork in because late submissions will not be accepted as tough as that may seem...We will begin planning based on our numbers on January 26th.

Math: I sent the quizzes home on Friday so if you haven't seen them yet, ask your child about it tonight. In fact, this particular quiz is the definition of "applying" what you understand. As you'll see, I likely took the application aspect a bit too far when I asked them to order a combination of mixed numbers and improper fractions with "unlike" denominators. I know - big mistake! Since it was a classwide struggle I take full responsibility for it and thus, it didn't count last week but will certainly count this week considering the additional time we'll continue to put in. With that said, decimals are on our horizon and it is essential that your child understands how to create equivalent fractions using multiplication, reduce fractions to simplest form using division, and can determine the "like" or "common" denominators BEFORE adding or subtracting.

Tonight's homework is to complete the "choose the operation" page - numbers 1-10.

Language Arts: I met with each group today, albeit briefly, to hit the ground running this week. One thing to look for as we move forward in our small groups is the time we spend with each book/rrj response. After meeting with some colleagues last week we discussed that the best strategy to foster the skill of applying feedback to their own work is to provide explicit opportunities with their own writing. For instance, rather than respond, get you grade, and move on to a different story and prompt we'll now be spending more time with each story to revise our work...wordy I know but it'll make sense when you see it.

Each group has homework tonight and it should be written in their planners!

Don't forget we have our paper bag book reports due on the 22nd!

Writing/Social Studies: As you know, we've been researching a city to learn about its landforms, climate, tourist attractions, and culture. Almost everyone is converting their notes into paragraphs for the actual brochure that is being created using Publisher.