The big Field Trip is Thursday; more information will be in the Tuesday folder with all of the specifics. Students must wear either the red Roberts polo shirt or the new red t-shirt. Snacks and drinks will be provided for the ride home. It will be a long, but very educational day for us. Thanks to Andrei, Caden, John, and Katherine's parents for going with us.
Benchmarks were taken and, as expected, were more difficult than during the TAKS years. Reading had 7 passages and 54 questions and Math had 56 questions. We are using the data to focus in on areas such as summarizing, main idea, and will begin a poetry unit this week in reading. The poetry unit will include poetic terms and types of poetry; poetry will be on the STAAR. In math, we are reviewing the Benchmark question by question and will concentrate on reading and using information from graphs/tables/charts and doing 2-step problems (where 2 mathematical operations will be performed to determine the final answer).
We will continue to write for extended periods of time; focusing on strong leads, creative endings, good word choice, elaboration of and including details, and staying on topic. We will also increase the time we spend on editing and revising passages. This, too, has changed since the TAKS with increased attention paid to exactly how wording, sentences, and writing will be improved. There will still be examples of correcting grammar, punctuation, and spelling but an added element is examples of "how could these sentences be combined?", "where would you add this sentence?", and "which sentence should be deleted?". Writing is the first test--March 27 and 28. Students will have to determine if the prompt they are writing to will be a personal narrative or expository, and this is something we have also taught the children to recognize the differences in.
We concluded "The Deciders" planner-the study of government and the students really enjoyed learning about the Constituition and its significance to our country. This week we will beging "Rock, Rattle, and Roll"; a science planner with a geological theme.
Spring Break is one week away and the Livestock Show and Rodeo is in town so make make plans to have a great week so that when we return on the 19th we will be ready to make the final push toward the STAAR.
