Mcclellan S Messenger

McClellan’s Messenger April 2015 It’s April! Even though summer is close, we still have MANY big and important things to do before we get there. Check out the many fun and exciting things that will be happening in our classroom this month: Writing We are continuing to write our opinion pieces over our Favorite Restaurants. Students are learning an organizing method called “Bing, Bang, and Bongo”. This helps students plan and organize writing pieces in a traditional 5 paragraph-essay format. Spelling/Word Study We will resume word study after the OCCT on April 20th. Each student gets his/her list every Monday morning and copies the words in their agenda. We are also doing at least 4 spelling activities in class each week. These activities involve things such as: writing their spelling words in sentences, sorting their words into spelling patterns, hunting for others words that follow the same spelling pattern, finding synonyms/antonyms for words, putting them in ABC order, and so much more. Tests will be on Fridays. Reading We will be finishing another round of book clubs. Our next focus will be on reading autobiographies. We will continue our reading instruction using toolkit lessons that focus on determining importance. This unit focuses on putting together facts, questions, and responses, recording the important ideas, targeting key information, distinguishing your thinking from the author’s, and pulling main ideas from the supporting details. Basically, I’ll be working with students on noticing the important parts of a text and identifying the main idea. Social Studies In social studies, we have been learning about the people of Oklahoma. We will start research and present on the Native American tribes and major events that have shaped Oklahoma. We will be creating a timeline that will be displayed in the hallway for Celebration of Learning. Science We will also be starting our last science unit towards the end of the month. Reminders o April 2- Collaboration Day- late start at 10:40 a.m. o April 3- Dynamic Dads o OCCT Testing- April 14-15 Wish List: Reams of white and colored copy paper

The kids have come such a long way from where they were in August—I’m so proud of them! We still have many things to learn and do in the next few weeks, so I look forward to seeing even more greatness from them! Thanks for all you do—you help to make my job a wonderful one!!

Thank you, Dina McClellan