Reading LIA and FAIR Testing

This week we took round 2 of the Reading LIA. I'm so proud of the gains my students made. I can tell they are working hard. Be on the lookout for these scores. They will be written in their planners. I will have a Pizza Party on Wednesday 12/11/13 for those students who made significant gains. If your child is invited, he/she will receive an invitation on Monday.

Also, next week we will take round 2 of the FAIR test. This is the reading test that they take on the computer. We will take in on Monday and Thursday. Please make sure your child is here both of those days. I'm looking forward to seeing their scores go up!

Let me know if you have any questions.
Ms. Ruiz :)

Better Late Than Never...

Well...I'm a little late with this post, but I just wanted everyone to see our wonderful Turkey assignment. Each student had to list 6 things he/she was thankful for and WHY. I loved reading about the things they are thankful for....such sweeties!! :) They wrote each thing on a feather and put them together to make a turkey.

This Week

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! I just wanted to take a few minutes to remind you of some things coming up this week. We have school everyday this week and then we have a WHOLE WEEK off for Thanksgiving Break. Wednesday is an Early Release Day (Dismissal @ 12:05) and it is also the Turkey Trot. All students will participate, since it takes place during their special area time. Please remind them to wear tennis shoes that day. Friday we will have our Classroom Thanksgiving Feast. If you received a letter from me, please let me know ASAP if you will or will not be able to make/send in that item.Please join us if you can! As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you!
Ms. Ruiz

TEXT FEATURES

Here's a link to a Power Point that you and your child can use to practice text features!
1) Click on the link
2) A Google search screen will pop up
3) Click on the first item in the list (It says [PPT] Text Features- Home)

http://www.google.com/search?q=text+features+power+point&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7DMUS

Much love,

Ms. Ruiz

Fall Party 2

Thank you again to everyone who sent in something for our Fall Party! Also, thank you to those parents who were able to come in and help me out! We had a great time playing outside in this wonderful Fall weather and of course, we enjoyed LOTS of yummy snacks! :)

Pumpkin Carving!!

Last week, as a review of sequence, I had the students complete a writing assignment "How to Carve a Pumpkin." Each student listed the steps in sequential order. The next day, as a surprise to them, I brought in a pumpkin and we carved it together as a class (don't worry...we were safe!). As we carved it, the students also had to explain what state of matter each part of the pumpkin was (outside, seeds, inside goo, etc). Hearing them explain the state of matter for the inside "goo" was pretty interesting and there was a great debate! Is it a liquid because it takes the shape of its container? Or is it a solid because it doesn't pour like a liquid? It really got them thinking!! For some of them it was the first time they had ever carved a pumpkin, or even felt the inside of one! Needless to say, it was a really exciting (and loud) Friday afternoon in my classroom! :) 

Fall Party

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to send something in for our Fall Party. Please remember that we have 16 students in our class. Please send in your item(s) on Friday, November 1st. We will have our party that afternoon.

Thank you!!
Love, Ms. Ruiz :)

Honor Roll

CONGRATULATIONS to our Honor Roll Students! I'm so proud of all your hard work this first nine weeks! You've done an outstanding job! Keep it up. :)

All As: Madison Domenico

Bs or Better: Dylan Byrne, Chloe Moore, and Marium Chowdhury

I hope to see more of my wonderful students on the Honor Roll next nine weeks. :)

Michigan

This is just a reminder (since students wrote it in their planners yesterday) that I am in Michigan and will be out until Monday. However, I am still available if you have any questions or concerns. I will have my cell with me at all times and I'm still checking my email. Don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything.:)

Thanks,

Ms. Ruiz

Tonight's Math Homework

Just in case anyone was wondering....I did not assign the wrong math homework! :) 

We will not begin to model division until Wednesday, October 2. I just assigned that homework tonight so that I can see what they already know. We will go over it tomorrow in class, I will see what they need the most help on and then I can plan my instruction for Wednesday based upon that. 

I just wanted to give you a heads-up. 
Thanks for understanding,
Ms. Ruiz :) 

Multiplication Trail Mix

Thank you to everyone who sent in something for our Trail Mix activity. I really appreciate your help with that costly activity. I can assure you we had a great time learning about combinations! After all, who wouldn't have fun learning while eating! :) 

Love,

Ms. Ruiz

Science Projects

Good Afternoon!

I just wanted to remind everyone that science projects are due TOMORROW!!! Please make sure your child is following the scientific method and includes every part on their display board, including labels and a title. I also told them they can include pictures (printed or drawn) on their board. I can't wait to see all of their projects! Please feel free to call me if you have any last minute questions...I'm here to help!

Thank you,
Ms. Ruiz

P.S. In case you need them again, these are the steps in the scientific method: question, hypothesis, materials, procedure, observations and data, results, conclusion, and extension.

Up and Running!

Hello everyone!

I hope you're all having a wonderful and relaxing Sunday afternoon. I just wanted to let everyone know that our class webpage/blog is finally up and running! I'm so sorry for the delay. There were some technical issues with my browser that have finally been resolved. On the class webpage there are 4 main tabs: Homework, English/Language Arts, Math, and Science. Some tabs have information for a unit, so they may stay the same for several weeks, but please check each tab weekly for any updates.  Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope this webpage is a useful tool for all of you!

Thank you!

Ms. Ruiz :)