Stay warm! This week will be a short week with the cancelation of school on Monday- and just a reminder, on days where we are delayed for school, please make sure your student does not arrive before 10:00am. We cannot guarantee your student will be supervised if they are at school before the supervision begins! This is a safety issue more than anything. With that said, welcome back to school and here's This Week in Switzer:
Literature- We finished our narrative non-fiction novels before the break and most students have completed their literature circle tasks, including blog posts and creating an infographic. I gave some students a little extra time to get those completed last week. I am excited because our students want to read their 2nd choice of narrative non-fiction books! We'll start those soon as well.
DEAR- Students are working on book projects and continuing to read their independent books. Just a reminder to encourage your student to read 15-20 minutes each night- and reading with them is a powerful way to help your student succeed in school.
WIN- Mr. Switzer's WIN group has a laser focus on getting ready for the Math Bee on March 6th- lots of practice and challenges until then!
Math- We've moved into Topic 9 still dealing with fractions and how to multiply and divide with fractions. This is tough stuff and it is likely that your student has homework in Math everynight- continue to ask them about it.
Social Studies- Students are researching a Civil War topic and generating a Time Magazine article- complete with cover page! They will transition to Chapter 4 soon.
Science- Students are moving into the Models and Design curriculum and learning how scientists create models to represent things they might not completely understand. Make sure to ask about the "Black Box!"
Writing- Most students have completed a narrative and now we are looking at informative and explanatory writing- we are also looking at how to build informative paragraphs this week. Soon, we'll be discussing how to identify reliable information; this is an important skill since we have so much information available to us on the web.
One last reminder to have your students get plenty of rest at night and to eat a healthy breakfast in the morning, especially after having an extended break from routine. I witnessed many students who were not quite ready to be their best at school last week- and I want them to have the best opportunity to learn everyday. Thanks for all your support and make sure to stay warm!
--
Matthew Switzer
6th grade teacher
Lincoln Elementary
6th grade teacher
Lincoln Elementary
