January 12 - 16 Information

Below you will find the Faulkner Flash, spelling words for the week, and TEAM homework. Please remember that spelling contracts and TEAM homework are due on Fridays. Sadly, we didn't have enough TEAM homework stars to even eat lunch in the room last week, but are hopeful that will be different this week.

Last week, students signed up for an Edmodo account. This allows them to contact me, take online quizzes (Snapshots), play games, and even have online class discussions. Students know they are not to use this as a way to chat to each other unless I have assigned them to do so. Also, I am able to monitor all of their activity. I have added some fraction games that students may play to earn stars for TEAM homework this week.

RED List Unit 4, Week 2	BLUE List Unit 4, Week 2	GREEN List Unit 4, Week 2
Name:	Name:	Name:
years foxes lunches flies cities ponies bunches alleys cherries libraries Bonus: preparations exhausted guarantee inference division	princesses monkeys bananas butterflies pumpkins daisies melodies sandboxes supplies eyelashes Bonus: preparations exhausted guarantee inference division	communities vacations families libraries vacancies dictionaries resources sandwiches doorways generations Bonus: preparations exhausted guarantee inference division

Welcome to 2015!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas break! We are back in the groove at school now. MAP testing has wrapped up and now students are working on the diagnostic assessment in iReady to see how they have progressed through the year. This test will determine the level of lessons they have in the future. Once it is complete, students will be able to start working on lessons again and earning more t-shirts!!

FRIDAY
- Progress reports will come home in the binder letting you know how your child is working through different standards in math, reading, and language arts.

- TEAM homework is due (see below).

- Spelling test & spelling contract due (many students have already completed their spelling contract during the classtime that has been provided)

RED List Unit 4, Week 1	BLUE List Unit 4, Week 1	GREEN List Unit 4, Week 1
Name:	Name:	Name:
found town shout owl couch bow scout round plow crowd Bonus: quotient numerator denominator compare contrast	county outside counter hounded downstairs flower ourselves thousand amount doubtful Bonus: quotient numerator denominator compare contrast	allowance accountant surroundings announcement accountable counselor dumbfounded pronounce powerful doubted Bonus: quotient numerator denominator compare contrast

The bonus words this week deal with current math and reading terms.

Christmas is in the Air!

I hope your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! It's amazing that we have less than 3 weeks until Christmas break. During these weeks, we have so many fun things to do!!

This week in Reading, we're all studying figurative language, plot, and use of illustrations through the treasured Christmas book, The Polar Express. Next Thursday and Friday, we'll watch the movie to make comparisons with the book and enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate. YUM!!

We have some exciting special events coming up:

Monday, December 10th - Storybook Christmas
This event includes CHS honor students recreated beloved children's books. Live theater (and some candy treats) are so much fun. Admission is a new book (dollar stores are great places for these).

Friday, December 14th - Treats, Treasures, and Traditions program - 1:45
I hope you will be able to join us for an exciting program we are working to present. We are creating a book where each child will have a 2-page spread including Christmas poems they have written, the recipe for their favorite Christmas food, and their family's Christmas traditions. Our program to you will be a presentation of poems, read by the students, and some other special elements. We'd love to be able to sample the recipes included in the book, so if you're able to make yours for use to taste, we'll have a grand tasting party at the end of our presentation.

Tuesday, December 16th - "The Toys Take Over Christmas" Play @ CHS - 8:30
Admission will only be $1 per student as the school will pay the rest of the ticket price!

Thursday, December 18th - CMS band concert @ the Arena - 10:30

Friday, December 19th - Class Christmas Party
We'll do a breakfast party complete with Christmas Minute-To-Win-It games! Let me know if you can help with the games. We'll do the game portion late-morning.

Treats,

Treasures, & Traditions

Send in your traditions and recipes by

FRIDAY!!

MAP Testing is coming up. See the schedule below to know when your child will do reading and math:
3rd - Lay & Lundy
4th - Bramlett & Bruce
11th - Daniels & Harris
12th - Myers & Hart
15th - Tipton & Faulkner

RED List Unit 3, Week 4	BLUE List Unit 3, Week 4	GREEN List Unit 3, Week 4
Name:	Name:	Name:
checkpoint choice coins coy employ foil joyful loyal noisy soil Bonus: biography inventor yearn acquire convenient	deploy poison destroy moisture annoy enjoyable appointed loyalty noisy viewpoint Bonus: biography inventor yearn acquire convenient	employment moisturizer enjoyment poisonous trapezoid disappointed oyster poisoned annoying rejoicing Bonus: biography inventor yearn acquire convenient

November 17 - 21

Oh my! We are so close to Thanksgiving I can almost smell the turkey!!!

A few important tidbits that were not included on the Faulkner Flash:

• Thursday is CLASS PICTURE DAY! We want everyone to be here so we can remember each special person in our class. If you plan on buying the picture, you need to pay on Thursday (pictures cannot be purchased later). Fliers are coming home today (Monday).
• Midterm reports are coming home Friday in the Data Notebooks. This will let you know how your child is doing in reading and math so far in this grading period. 
• Please send in your recipes and Christmas traditions (email would be the best way) - see letter below the Faulkner Flash.

Dear parents,

We will soon be working on a special Christmas project in class. We will be studying Christmas traditions in different parts of the world. I would like this project to include traditions that we have here. So, if you could please send the following (email, handwritten, or typed) by FRIDAY, December 5^th, it would be much appreciated:

* A recipe for your child’s favorite Christmas treat

* One or two paragraphs explaining special Christmas  traditions that your family shares

Thank you for your help on this part of the project! This will be compiled in a book that will also include poetry that we are writing in class. Each child will have a 2-page spread including the recipe for their favorite Christmas treat, a write-up of their special Christmas traditions, and one or two poetry pieces. Each child will receive their own copy of the book.

In December, we will host a poetry reading for where the kids will read the poems that they have selected for the book. It will be a great experience for them to share their poetic voice in front of an audience, and what better audience than family!! If possible, I would like everyone to be able to sample some of the recipes from the book. I will give you more details when a date and location has been set.

Thanks again for your help. Please feel free to send in your recipe and traditions early (that would be of great help to me!). We look forward to sharing the finished result with you!!

Thanks,

Mrs. Faulkner

RED List Unit 3, Week 3	BLUE List Unit 3, Week 3	GREEN List Unit 3, Week 3
Name:	Name:	Name:
unfair retold misfile precut unwanted recall misnumber preplan unhappy undone Bonus: Thanksgiving grateful appreciative gratitude	unwilling revisit dislike reunite misfire uneven reworded unsafe preheat misread Bonus: Thanksgiving grateful appreciative gratitude	unselfish unmistaken restrain disrespect reawaken mismatched revisited misleading uncovered premeasure Bonus: Thanksgiving grateful appreciative gratitude

Cereal Box Reading Project

Students are almost finished with the novels they've been reading for their book clubs. As a culminating project (rather than a comprehensive test), students will design a cereal that relates to their book. Students will develop a creative name, cereal shape, prize, and games for the back of the box as well as character and setting information as"ingredients." All the instructions, rubric, and templates are being sent home today, but are also available below.

Directions

Rubric

Side 1

Side 2

Note: Students may type the information for the sides and top instead of handwriting on the templates that have been provided.

In addition to creating the cereal box, students also get to make a commercial to convince people to "buy" their cereal. This commercial can be presented live in class, but many may want to choose to record it as a video and send in the link so we can watch it in class. The advantage to a video is it can be done as many times as necessary until it's just right and you can also include props, other people, and even special effects.

This should be a fun project and a good activity to work on over the LONG weekend! The project is due next Friday, November 7th. Students have been encourage to start working on it over the weekend so they're not rushing to complete it when they return on Wednesday. If you are not able to find a cereal box, please let me know.

Students DO NOT HAVE TO BE FINISHED WITH THE BOOK to begin working on this project.

If you google "cereal box book report," you can see lots of great picture examples. Here are a few:
      
*Notice that the entire box has been covered so that the original cereal is not apparent.

FYI:
1st Block - Due Wednesday

• Frindle book club should have read chapters 10, 11, and 12 AND completed their 4th job.
• Clementine and The Homework Machine book clubs should have read chapters 7 and 8 AND completed their 4th job.

2nd Block - Due Wednesday

• All book clubs should have finished their book AND completed their final job

It's almost Halloween!!

Halloween is in the air! Those that did the pumpkin disguise project were super creative! Look at all these clever ways to disguise a pumpkin!!!

DATA NOTEBOOK (aka Report Card)
Our report cards are in a completely different format this year. The data notebook contains all the testing and class data for your child. Read through my letter at the front and look over all the information. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Also, check out this link to learn more about standards based grading.

EXCITING EVENTS
Friday will be a super exciting day. It's Halloween! To celebrate we will have a super awesome party in the afternoon with yummy things to eat (see what your child signed up to bring on the back of the Faulkner Flash) and Halloween Minute-To-Win-It games. If you signed up at open house to help with parties, I'll be contacting you to see if you can help with this party.

Most of our day will be spent listening to the book character presentations. On the back of the Faulkner Flash, you can see all the requirements. Failure to do the project means a zero and no Halloween party for that student. Have your child practice their presentation in front of you a few times so they can work out the bugs and be comfortable with how they want to present.

See below for the Faulkner Flash, TEAM homework for next week, and spelling lists:

RED List Unit 2, Week 5	BLUE List Unit 2, Week 5	GREEN List Unit 2, Week 5
Name:	Name:	Name:
he’d she’d that’s what’s won’t there’s you’re wasn’t we’re I’ve Bonus: Halloween audible audience audition	haven’t they’ve you’ve it’s we’d we’ll should’ve doesn’t I’ll they’re Bonus: Halloween audible audience audition	mightn’t wouldn’t shouldn’t weren’t they’ve I’d they’ll you’d she’d I’ve Bonus: Halloween audible audience audition