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Relaxation and Reflection

We've enjoyed such a busy week full of Kiker opportunities!  We learned about the upcoming science fair, watched a fantastic 5th grade play, and participated in Track and Field.  Your students will agree that we're ready for a relaxing Thanksgiving break.  Ms. Fraser reminded us in assembly that we need to be reflective about what we're grateful for every day during this upcoming holiday break.  This habit of gratitude brings us to a more mindful and peaceful state.

We've also spent some time this week reflecting on our quality work artifacts as we progress through the second quarter. Students are bringing home their notebooks to share with you.  Please create some time during your Thanksgiving break to celebrate your child's work quality and to discuss areas of growth.

SBLC mathematicians all reflected on the importance of math fact fluency.  Now that we find ourselves using multidigit multiplication and division frequently as useful tools, it's laborious to solve these computation problems if we're not fluent with multiplication facts yet.  Many students are using extra moments during soft start and after Think Through Math to build their fact fluency skills, especially multiples of 6, 7, 8, and 9.

We all reviewed the scientific method and learned about Kiker science fair resources.  All 4th graders are required to create a science fair project and 3rd graders are invited but not required.  We'll create a an example of a quality scientific notebook in class after Thanksgiving, and then 4th grade students will begin working through the scientific method with their independent science projects.  Please consider using Thanksgiving break time to discuss scientific topics of interest with your student so your kiddo is ready for next steps soon.

Our writers have been hard at work creating expository outlines and drafts. We've improved upon basic ideas to include vivid details that our readers can visualize. We've been navigating word choice, paragraphing, and adding conclusions that show significance -- a deeper way to end than merely restating our central idea. We have been working with compound sentences and the special punctuation it entails.

We began a journey with our new book, I am Malala (Young Readers' Edition), an autobiography by a brave young woman. We have learned a lot of background information this week about Pakistan and the surrounding countries, some timelines of history, and used a variety of sources to learn more about the culture so that we can approach this text knowledgeably. We are examining with our new nonfiction signposts -- places where we STOP, notice, and NOTE what we see there -- to better understand our nonfiction text. We realize it's not just the Main Idea that we are remembering, nor are we simply summarizing or memorizing a bunch of details. We are SYNTHESIZING text. Big work!

Again, have a fabulous holiday, and we are so thankful for each one of you!!

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