Mallen's Monday Memo September 29, 2014

Monday Memo
September 29, 2014

Dear Parents,

It was wonderful to be able to visit with you last week!! You have such kind children and it is my pleasure to teach them every day! I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! We work so hard in school that it is great for us all to be able to relax for a couple of days!

This week in reading, we are working on the genre of mysteries!! It is always such a fun unit! I am reading the first Encyclopedia Brown book entitled Encyclopedia Brown:  Boy Detective. We will be doing daily skills lessons from the story. There are a variety of skills that include:  Syllabication, Alphabetizing, Guide Words, Using words in context, and the list goes on. I really like the way the Encyclopedia Brown books have the students really use their critical thinking skills to solve problems! I like all of the kids to experience the stories. With that, tomorrow is the end of the month which means that they will be tested on their second book for September. Most of them have had to read a Laura Ingalls Wilder book, while others have had other books to read. Once they pass the quiz over their RC book, I will be giving them a library book that is an Encyclopedia Brown book. Everyone will be receiving one. Now I realize that not all of my students are capable of reading one of these books. However, I am giving them one anyway in the hopes that you or a sibling can read it with them, to them, whatever the case may be. They need to have passed one of the Encyclopedia Brown books by October 15th. If they finish early and pass the test, they can read another one of the Encyclopedia Brown books or they can get a library book. Thank-you for your help with that.  I will be giving them another book on October 15th. We are working on writing a mystery story this week also. We will be very busy in reading this week! Last week we had the SRA lab and the students were able to complete 4 stories! I was very happy with that!

For Math this week, we are working on using place value understanding to round multi-digit numbers to any place value, using real world applications. We will be completing our first mid modular assessment. It reviews how well they are doing with what we have learned so far. I am anxious to see how well they do on it. We are still doing our daily reviews. I have lowered some of their daily reviews to a level that I feel they can independently have success. That has worked so much better. Many of the students just weren’t ready for 4th grade level independent work. Hopefully this will help ease them into it. We also complete a multiplication sheet each day. Thank-you for working on the multiplication facts each day with your child!

We are talking about the Northeastern Region of the United States in Social Studies. This chapter explores the history and economy of the region. We will be talking about: The Iroquois Confederacy, The American Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution this week! We have been doing a few activities on the prometheon board over this region as well.

We have a few exciting things happening with us this week. We had our first counselor time today! The students always enjoy a lesson from Counselor Johnson! On Thursday, the students are going to the outdoor classroom during their pe time! On Friday, the students will be doing the annual Iowa Fitness Walk at 10:00.

This is Homecoming Week!! The special events/days are as follows:

Monday:  Pajama Day  and Pep Assembly at 9:00 at Jacobson Gym

Tuesday:  Black-Out Day
Wednesday:  Wacky Wednesday
Thursday:  Favorite Sports Team
Friday:  School Spirit Day

As always, please call with any questions/concerns!

Have a great week!
Chris Mallen
Phone:  444-3093 (Home)   444-4300 ext. 336 (School)
Email:  chris.mallen@bkcsd.org




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