January 29th through February 2nd

Keenoy’s Pups News                                        2-2-18

Dear Parents,

I hope that everyone had a great week.  I am very excited about the upcoming weekend.  My best buddy (since 5^th grade) Brad is coming into town for the Kentucky and Mizzou basketball game on Saturday.  My aunt and uncle are also making the trip from St. Louis to visit.  Everyone is staying the night and we should have a wonderful time.  Gabby spent the entire night Wednesday throwing up, so my fingers are crossed that none of the other Keenoys get sick!  Knock on wood!

Pup of the Week: Wesley V.

Hello, my name is Wesley.  I have one sister and a dog.  My mom works at Paxton Keeley and my dad works for GM (General Motors).  My favorite sport to watch is basketball, and my favorite sport to play is football.  I play on a basketball team.  My favorite after school activity is playing on my PS4. 

The next Pup of the Week is Mr. Keenoy….ME!  Earlier in the year, my class voted for me to be included in the weekly Pup tradition.  I’m honored, but will have to make a trip to Walgreens.  All my recent photos are all digital!

Parent Teacher Conferences

A confirmation note is in the Friday Folder with your scheduled conference time.  Please contact me right away if changes need to me made. I look forward to meeting with you about your child’s second trimester progress.

Tissues Needed

Our classroom is quickly running out of tissues again.  If you are at the store and do not mind picking up a box, we will definitely put them to good useJ  Thanks.

 

Reading

We completed the book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham and students really seemed to enjoy the movie.  Afterwards, we naturally compared and contrasted similarities/differences in both.  This story mentioned some of the racial tensions that existed in our country during the 1960s.  I was then reminded about the autobiography, Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges.  This is a story about Ruby attending one of the first integrated schools in Louisiana in 1960.  I’m excited to start this new read aloud next week.  Since Martin Luther King’s birthday, the Civil Rights Movement has been a topic of several great conversations.   

The comprehension strategies that we will be focusing on during this book include:

*Compare and Contrasting

*Point of View

*Cause and Effect

*Main Idea

*Theme

Each of these strategies will relate to the Common Core State Standards.  Students will be asked to practice these strategies in their reading log during this unit.  During our independent reading time, I will be conferring with individuals and guided reading groups.  These conferences and guided reading groups help support the comprehension skills we are practicing during whole group with our read aloud.

Writing

Many students completed their middle paragraph drafts this week.   Today we worked hard on creating an effective non-fiction ending and started the revision phase of the writing cycle.  My lessons next week will continue focusing on improving student writing with: beginnings, endings, and blending a storytelling voice with research fact based information.  Much of my instruction allows to students to analyze an exemplar example of the skill that I am teaching that day.  I am pleased with the progress that students are making so far.  

Math

Students took an assessment over topic 4 on Thursday and Friday.  These will be graded and shared at conferences.  We will start learning about adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions in topic 5 next week.

Word Study

This week students focused on Long E words.  Next week we will shift our focus common suffixes. 

Students learned about a spelling pattern with the suffixes tion and sion.

Drop "d" and add "sion"

Base                 Suffix

Explode             explosion           

Collide               collision

Drop "e" and add "ion"

Base                 Suffix

Educate             education

Decorate           decorate

Words already ending with s like express add ion=expression

Science

Next week we will complete our experimental design friction investigation.  Make sure to ask your child about this experiment next week.

The Valentine Party

Last week’s newsletter included the basic information about boxes/cards/party.  Our classroom blog also has this information.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Reminders

*Feb. 5 … No School - Teacher Workday

*Feb. 6...Baby pics due for yearbook

*Feb. 9...Shakespeare’s Pizza fundraiser forms due

*Feb. 9...Valentine Party 2:15-3:00

*Feb. 12-16...Conference Week

*Feb. 16...No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences

*Feb. 19… No School - President’s Day

Sincerely,

                                                                                                           Dan Keenoy