Fall is here and we are moving along.  Next week I will begin sign ups for October conferences.  We will be going on a Field Trip to see "Meet the US Presidents" on October 25 (information will be coming home in this Tuesday's folder).  I will need 2 chaperones to go with us, and chaperones must be approved through the district before allowed to go.  You will need to register online if you haven't done so already; if you have, you will need to bring your driver's license to the Office and show Mrs. Niksch so she can "reactivate" you.  Please do so as soon as possible as it could take up to 2 weeks to be processed.

This week's learning will be: 

Math- We will continue with Unit 2 in math. Next week we will focus on our place value skills and organizing data with a tally chart to determine range, minimum, maximum, and mode. We will also review how to display data on a line chart and how to find the median. We will review addition with multidigits using the partial sums algorithm. We always conclude the week with games that reinforce the skills learned.
Writing- Leads and endings. This week our focus is how to write strong leads so that readers want to keep reading our stories and how to end our stories so they tie up nicely. We will begin publishing stories in a week or so. Our grammar focus this week is commas in compound sentences.
Reading- We had lots of fun learning and acting out character traits. This week we will look at the story elements in fiction books (plot, setting, characters, etc) as well as take an introspective look at what makes us fill "full" and what makes us feel "empty."
Social Studies- This week we learn about the different vegetation in different regions in Texas and describe what type of plants and animals grow and live in each region.
In social studies this week there will be a vocabulary test based on words learned during chapter 1. There is also a chapter 1 test (open book).
Science- In Science we will look at ways to sort and classify matter. We will also determine what makes a mixture and how they can be separated. We have a fun hands on experiment where the class will use marshmallows to make molecules.