Content Infomation - Snider/Miller

Below we have shared specific information about what is happening in each content area.
Over the course of the year we will look back and forward to help provide some context for what your student is doing.
You are encourage to look at their assignment notebook to better understand their homework responsibilities too!

Click here to access the academic document that highlights what student learning will be this year for 5th or 6th grade math as well as reading and writing for all of our students.

Big ideas Math - 6th 

Students completed their first mid-chapter quiz this past week. Thank you for signing your student's correction sheet.

At the end of this week they will take the Chapter 1 end of unit assessment. We will review and practice they day before the assessment. 

All students were encouraged to take the Chapter 1 vocabulary cards - and most did. They are a wonderful way to practice the terms and concepts that are essential parts of the chapter. These vocabulary cards will be a regular feature of each chapter. 

Daily students will complete an exit ticket that allows them to demonstrate their understanding and application of that day's learning target. I give them feedback and return them the next day. These daily check-ins allow me to see who I need to connect with and over what as we move through each chapter. 

Here are the topics Chapter 1 focuses on:
• Fluently divide. • Write and evaluate with whole number exponents. • Find the prime factorization of a number. • Find the GCF (greatest common factor) of two whole numbers. • Find the LCM (least common multiple) of two whole numbers  

​Math homework will be assigned almost every day. Typically it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. If it is taking your student longer than that night after night, please contact me (Amy).

Reading

Our students are expected to read their own self-selected independent reading book for 30 minutes each evening. 

This week students will begin using their reader's notebook. In it they will collect all of the titles and authors they read over the course of this school year. Additionally they will begin completing reading response entries a few times a week. 

Most students are remembering to fill-out and carry their reading log as well as their independent reading book between home and school each day. Habits are forming! I'll collect everyone's reading log every Monday to check-in and support as needed. 

In class students are working on building their reading stamina and I'll meet with everyone over the next few weeks to complete running records. 

We continue to read Wishtree by Katherine Applegate as our all-class read aloud. 

SOcial studies || Science

We examined the connection between how we measure time (day, month, year) and the rotation and revolution of the Earth and our Moon this past week. Students completed an entry ticket to practice this information related to "natural calendars." 

Moon observations will continue for the next two weeks. Please encourage your student to notice how the Moon is rising later and later each day and they will have to look for it in the morning.

Students will have their first quiz this week on the concepts they have learned. They will receive a review sheet on Monday to practice and review. 

Everyday Mathematics - 5th

This week students will build on the concepts of volume they explored last week by learning and applying formulas for calculating the volume of rectangular prisms. They will complete the final lesson of Unit 1 on Thursday, and work through a review packet on Friday to prepare for the assessment. The Unit 1 Assessment will take place next week Tuesday (10/5). 

Here's a link to the Everyday Math at Home website which includes downloadable copies of the Family Letter and Home Links for Unit 1 as well as selected solutions for each Home Link. 

Writing

On Friday your student started to plan out their personal narrative with an emphasis on structure, setting, and characters. This week they'll begin the drafting process with an eye towards developing a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. 

Crew

This week your student will participate in our first formal MAC 3 Oak Appreciation Circle of the school year! On Monday morning they'll pick a popsicle stick with the name of a classmate. To ensure students remember the name they pick, they will be instructed to jot it down in their assignment notebook. Students will then observe this peer throughout the beginning of the week to identify a situation in which they've demonstrated a PARK character trait (perseverance, advocacy, responsibility, or kindness). They'll share this appreciation with the whole class after lunch on Wednesday afternoon. 

Second Step / SEL

On Monday your student will experience their first Second Step lesson during Crew. Second Step is a research based learning program used district wide and designed to improve students' social emotional skills. In this week’s lesson, your student will learn how to set a goal that's right for them. A goal that's right for someone is specific, challenging, doable, and motivating.

To support your student in this work at home, you might: 
 -Ask what their goal is and how they know it’s right for them. 
-Encourage them to describe why it’s motivating to them. 
-Talk to your student about a goal you reached in the past and why you chose that goal.

Here's a letter with additional information about Second Step that was shared earlier in the school year by Lake Bluff school counselor Amy Gahl-Sweeney. 

Here is the website for our Lake Bluff newspaper, The Beagle Times. We encourage you to check out!

From the 2020-2021 school year - The Tournament of Words has concluded! Our students on the North/Miller side voted in the first round - and KAYAK won over ghost. AND IT WENT ALL THE WAY! KAYAK is the 2021 Tournament of Words winner!

---

Just a few photos

Lined up on the first day of school, ready to come into school.

Members of the north group during snack time outside.