Reading & Spelling Grading

Please see below for an outline of how ALL classes will be graded in Reading and Spelling. 

Reading

• 4-5 grades per week in Edline
• Nightly homework (4/ week)
• 100 points/ week (25/ day)
• Each night of homework is 25 points.  This means, if a student were to read 3/4 days, they'd get a 75% in homework for that week.
• Students can make up missed days reading.  Just have them read an extra 30 minutes one day or on the weekend.  Write me a note indicating when your child read and for how long; I'll restore their grade accordingly.  
• Book club reading
• 100 points/ week
• Students will lose 20 points each time they have not read to their stop page on our meeting days. Students have time to read in class.
• Book club assignments
• Students will lose 20 points each time they have not completed their book club assignments by our meeting days. Students have time to complete these assignments in class.
• Participation (in Readers' Workshop)
• Read aloud participation

Spelling

• 2 grades per week in Edline
• Nightly homework (4/ week)
• 100 points/ week (25 points/ day)
• Spelling quiz on Fridays

Reminders:

• Get Caught Reading:  Remember to email in pictures when you "catch" your child reading!  Hadley.ONeill@hcps.org  

Upcoming Dates:

• No school for students next week.  Have a very safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Harford Glen

The next two days we will be attending Harford Glen as part of our Environmental Stewardship unit.

Students will need a backpack with a change of clothes, just in case they get messy. Weather looks good, with temperatures around 60 degrees or into the low 60s both days, so light jackets should be fine. Boots are the preferred footwear, but tennis shoes are acceptable. If you marked that your student will bring a lunch, please make sure  a lunch is packed in the bag. If you marked that a lunch is being bought, a bagged lunch will be waiting here at school. All details are available in the parent packet that you got with the permission slip earlier this year.

We will come to school in the normal way, we will take busses over and back, and will be returning to Riverside as close to 6 PM as possible on both days. Please be sure that the ride for your student is here at Riverside at 6 PM, so that we may get students picked up promptly.

We appreciate all of your support for this trip and will see you tomorrow!

-Mr. Rost

Math Topic 4

In Math we will be learning to multiply whole numbers and decimals to hundredths. We began the unit learning how patterns to place the decimal point when a decimal is multiplied by a power of 10. We will also estimate decimal products. We will look for structure and patterns to help us to predict answers and understand concepts. 

This topic uses money as a real world context to connect what we are doing in room 22 to everyday life. 

Here is something you can do at home to practice:

1. Look at grocery sale ads.

2. Choose one item and decide the number of items that you want to buy. (2 or more)

3. Estimate about how much the purchase will cost. Students can round to whole numbers or compatible numbers (numbers they deem easier to work with). 

For example: 

Choose to buy 4 of an item that costs $2.89. 

4 x $2.89 is close to 4 x 3 which is $12. 

Choose to buy 16 of an item that costs $3.18.

16 x $3.18 is similar to 15 x 3 so the total cost will be about $45.

Happy shopping! 

Mrs. Mezan 

Book Clubs!

Good evening,

By the end of this week, all students will have started their first book club of the year! Essentially book clubs are "guided reading"; students read texts within their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD; see diagram below).  Additionally, because choice is so vital in reading with regard to intrinsic motivation, students ranked their top choices for clubs.  Based on those ranks (and other contributing factors), I assembled groups.  


Quick Facts about Book Clubs:

• I meet with each book club every other day (twice a week)
• Students (with my guidance) decide together how many pages to read for the next meeting.
• Students have time in class to complete their assigned reading and any additional tasks related to the reading.
• Students are allowed to take book club books home, if desired.
• During meetings, the teacher's role is to first ask questions to monitor comprehension, then push students to think more critically about text.  This is where the magic really happens... Meaningful and insightful dialogue (and eventually writing) comes out of these meetings. 
• Students still have time to read self-selected books during Readers' Workshop, throughout the week.

Reminders:

• Book Fair:  Mrs. O'Neill's homeroom will shop for books during Library tomorrow.
• PTA meeting tonight in the cafeteria, at 6:30
• Get Caught Reading:  Remember to email in pictures when you "catch" your child reading!  Hadley.ONeill@hcps.org  

Upcoming Dates:

• Harford Glen: Permission slips due Friday, Nov. 4 or your earliest convenience. 
• Parent-Teacher Conferences: Monday, Nov. 7  
• All students and families should have been notified of their conference time.  If you are unaware of your assigned time, please email your homeroom teacher. 

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Reading Update

O'NEILL & ROST   

Target Learning Goals:  To grow ideas about characters, readers can...

• ... explore how characters treat others to notice patterns in their behavior.
• ... use patterns in characters' behaviors to write (and defend) claims about their personalities.
• ... pay attention to Memory Moments to infer what characters...
• struggle with.
• care about.
• hold close to their hearts.
• depend on.

TLGs in Action:

MEZAN  This week we finished up learning strategies to help us infer ideas about character feelings, move into thinking about character/ personality traits.

Target Learning Goals (TLG):  To grow ideas about characters, readers can...

• ... pay attention to what characters do (their actions) to infer how they feel.
• ... consider time duration to identify character feelings vs. traits. 

TLGs in Action:

Spirit Week Schedule

• Friday 10/28:  Race for Education during specials. Wear your school colors.

Reminders:

• Get Caught Reading:  Remember to email in pictures when you "catch" your child reading!  Hadley.ONeill@hcps.org  

Upcoming Dates:

• Race for Education: Tomorrow!
• Harford Glen permission slips due:  Friday, Nov. 4 or your earliest convenience. 
• Parent-Teacher Conferences: Monday, Nov. 7  
• All students and families should have been notified of their conference time.  If you are unaware of your assigned time, please email your homeroom teacher. 

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

Spirit Week Schedule

Spirit Week Schedule

• Tuesday 10/25:  Crazy Hair and Hat Day
• Wednesday 10/26:  Book Character Day  (NOT Halloween Costumes so they must be related to a book)
• Thursday 10/27:  80s Day
• Friday 10/28:  Race for Education during specials. Wear your school colors.

Reminders:

• Get Caught Reading:  Remember to email in pictures when you "catch" your child reading!  Hadley.ONeill@hcps.org  

Upcoming Dates:

• Race for Education: Friday, Oct. 28
• Harford Glen permission slips due:  Friday, Nov. 4 or your earliest convenience. 
• Reading Week: Monday, Oct. 31 - Friday, Nov. 4.
• Book Fair Projects: All entries need to be brought to school between Monday, Oct. 24 - Wednesday, Oct. 26.  Information regarding reading week and projects will come home this Friday at the latest.
• Parent-Teacher Conferences: Monday, Nov. 7

Thank you,

Mrs. O'Neill

In Math we have begun Topic 3. We will be learning to fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using different methods. We will explain patterns in the number of zeroes of the product when multiplying a number by powers of 10. We will also apply our understanding of place value to estimate products. We will use money in real world contexts to connect mathematics in Room 22 to problems in everyday life.

We will examine several methods to multiply large numbers in the beginning of the unit.  Students will be encouraged to choose a method that they understand the most to use for their classwork and homework. The method students use is open to personal preference as long as accurate answers are achieved. 

Continue to review and practice basic multiplication facts to 12 x 12. Students can more easily concentrate on multi-step problems when they know their basic multiplication facts. They are all becoming more confident with their facts as we enter the second quarter. I am so proud of their progress.

Homework will continue to be assigned Monday through Thursday nights. Math homework should take 10 -15 minutes. Students (and parents!) are always encouraged to give me feedback about their learning in a note on their homework.

The first quarter ends Friday Oct. 28th. Grades will be recorded in Edline beginning Monday Oct. 31 and posted on a regular basis. Do you have an Edline password so that you can monitor your child's progress? Contact our school office for a password code if you need one. Edline is a very valuable tool!

As always, please feel free to contact me with specific questions.
Mrs. Mezan
shelley.mezan@hcps.org