1. Ms. Deming’s Weekly Newsletter Last Week’s Happenings…
January 27, 2016
Last Week’s Happenings…
2nd Quarter Projects
Last week the students completed and turned in their second quarter reading/writing projects. They each got to share their project by choosing an article to read to the class. They turned out awesome! They are on display in the hallway outside our room!
Celebrating MLK
Last week to honor and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. we did a close reading passage on Martin Luther King. The students then wrote PEACE poems and write their own “I have a Dream” speech to make the world a better place. This week the students will be doing a paideia seminar on Martin Luther King Jr.
Class Store
Last week we had our second quarter class store. The students cashed their checks and were able to go shopping with their money. Thank you to all the parents who donated items and helped make it a success!

2. Happening This Week… Grammar
Math
Due to canceled school last week and this, we did not get to start our division unit until this week. There are 3 pathways in this unit:
Solving division problems with picture and repeated subtraction
Solving division unknown equations and relating multiplication and division
Solving 1 and 2 step division problems
Once students complete all of their assigned pathways based on the pretest, they will be working on a PBL. They will also be getting enrichment lessons from me based on their MAP data.
Reading
This week students will continue reading their series books in their book clubs. After they do their assigned reading, they create 3 thick questions and write a summary of what they read. We will be doing a paideia seminar on MLK on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday the students will be learning and practicing RL3.1 (asking and answering questions about a text referring back to the text for answers). The students will be asking their own who, what, when, where, why, how questions and other students in their group will have to answer those questions.
Writing
Students will continue with their nonfiction magazine articles. They will be writing their paragraphs this week and creating subheadings for their paragraphs. Next week we will begin with our text features.
Grammar
There will be no grammar this week due to the short week.
Science- This week we will continue with our Earth in the Universe unit. The students will learn about the importance of the sun. The students will make a 3 dimensional solar system using paper, string, and a hanger. They will have to order the planets and write 3 facts about each one.
Social Studies- This week we will be focusing on science. We will pick up with SS next week.
Important Dates to know…
-1/27 Class Picture Day
-1/28 Second Quarter OWL Feather Celebration 3:00-3:45
-Friday 1/29 January Birthday Celebrations from 2:55-3:25 (Recess will be at 3:25)
-Friday 2/5 Father/Daughter Dance
-Tuesday 2/9 Parent Personalized Learning Meeting
-Wednesday 3/2 Book Character Day (Come to school dressed as your favorite book character)
Vocabulary Dates:
-List 7 words introduced Monday 2/1 and Tuesday 2/2
-List 7 test Friday 2/12
Spelling Dates:
Group 1 Words introduced 1/27 and test 2/3
Group 2 Words introduced 1/28 and test 2/4
Group 3 Words introduced 1/29 and test 2/5
Upcoming Assignment Due Dates:
-2/1 (I gave an extension) Math Multiplication Resort PBL’s Due for those students who were assigned
-Interactive Notebooks due for a grade 2/5 (All assignments we have done up until this date will need to be completed).
Upcoming Test & Quiz Dates:
-Wednesday 2/3 Science Quiz on the planets, sun, and earth’s rotation. I will be sending out a quiz invitation that includes what is on the quiz.
Notes from Ms. Deming 
-Beginning this week, students will go back to having their nightly reading and math homework. Their reading homework will be 30 minutes of Raz Kids, Compass Learning, or read a book. Students should be changing it up between all of these. For their math homework, they will choose what they take home for math. They will record it on their personalized learning sheet. They should be taking home an activity from math in class that day to work on. If they finished all their activities that day or are done with their pathways and are doing a PBL, they could do Khan Academy, work on the PBL, or they may even be given a worksheet from Ms. Deming on the enrichment skill they are working on.
-Please make sure to sign your child’s credit/debit sheet, agenda, reading log, and personalized learning sheet nightly.
-We will begin EOG prep toward the end of February/beginning of March. More information will come as it gets closer. We will be purchasing EOG prep books again this year. If you would like to begin helping your child prepare please make sure to do the 30 minutes of nightly reading for homework and also you can go to and print out reading passages with comprehension questions for them to practice. It is free!
Important Information and Reminders
-White 8x11” copy paper
-Disinfectant wipes
-Series of Unfortunate Events Books 2 and 3 in the series
-5 copies of books 1 and 2 of 39 Clues series
Wish List Link: