Mr. Blanc's Class

I can't believe that Winter Break is already here! Optional Reading Log Students will not have a reading log assigned over the break. There will be an optional reading log sent home, any student who brings it back after break will get their name on the class Wall of Fame. Dreambox Challenge The student who completes the most minutes of Dreambox over the break will get on the class Wall of Fame. I am able to monitor the amount of time students spent on their accounts, so no time tracking is necessary. This is an optional challenge. I look forward picking up where we left off on Thursday, 1/4!

Next week will be short as Winter Break will begin on Thursday, 12/21. Inquiry On Monday, 12/18 students will begin writing an informational paper on their migration topic. They will use their research notes and an outline that we have been working on in class to write their best paper. They will have two 60 minute sessions to finish their paper. All of the work on these papers will be done in class on Monday and Tuesday. Have your student tell you what three subtopics they will include in their paper. Math Last week we began our study of division. So far students have learned to divide using the standard algorithm and a place value chart. Ask them to tell you what Dracula Must Suck Blood has to do with division. We've been checking our division answers by multiplying the quotient and the divisor and adding the remainder, if there is one. Next week we will learn how to use an area model to solve a division problem. Reading  Students will turn in their reading logs on Tue

Inquiry Students have been working hard researching their migration topic. We've spent time coming up with open-ended questions about our topics to give us guidance for our research. Next week students will get a few more days of research and then they will begin an outline for an informational paper they will write on their topic. The expectation is that each student has at least three subtopics about their migration that they write about. Ask your student if they know which subtopics they plan on writing about.  Reading In our study of reading nonfiction history texts we've learned how understanding common text structures like cause and effect, compare and contrast, chronological sequencing, and problem/solution can help us with comprehension. Next week we'll spend time pulling out the main idea and finding supporting details that link back to the main idea. This work will be essential, as students will be expected to be able to write informational paragraphs about t

Reading Students will turn in their weekly reading log on Tuesday, 12/5. They will also take their vocabulary test on nonfiction text features that day as well. Our reading time is now divided into two sections, for the first half students will be reading nonfiction texts and during the second half they can read the genre of their choice. On Tuesday, each student will get a historical fiction book that is set during the migration they are studying for our inquiry unit. Check in with your student and have them tell you about their book.  Idiom of the week: a drop in the bucket     Math  Next week we will begin working on division. The students who have the most success during this multiplication and division unit are the ones who have their math facts down. It's difficult to work on long division story problems if you have to use a lot of brain power to determine how many times 4 can go into 21 without going over. There are all kinds of apps, and of course, good old flashcar