Well, it is definitely feeling more like fall this week! Perfect weather for trick-or-treating on Saturday!

The October Book-It Calendars are due on Monday. Make sure you sign them first! Even if they don't make the goal, if they have attempted to keep track of their minutes, send it back. I like to see how they are doing. I will give them their new one on Monday. The goal for November will be the same. 

Conferences- last week I sent you a link to sign up for your child's conference. Please make sure you do that before November 5. If you are having trouble with that date, email me. We can make other arrangements. It looks like I only need a few more. 

Math- This week we started working on division with placing the first digit. The way I taught them is the same way we all grew up learning it. Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring Down, Repeat. They are dealing with remainders and we have discussed how the remainder can not be equal to or larger than the divisor. On Tuesday, I taught them how to check their division by multiplying the divisor times the quotient and adding the remainder. It was funny how many of them still said, "Did  I get it right?"  We will be learning other strategies, but the overall one we will use is the strategy above. The next one we cover is one  I learned a few years ago in my math class. Division using partial quotients. I really liked because for those kids who struggle with basic facts, this is pretty easy. You multiply by 10s until you can't go any further, then you start your single digits. I will try to send home a hard copy for you to check it out. They still are multiplying and subtracting, but it gets their dividend smaller in bigger chunks! It is pretty cool. Some kids like it, others don't. That's the great thing about math--- there are multiple ways to solve a problem. They just need to find the one that works for them! 

Halloween Stories-- They are all typed and attached to their Frankensteins! They will be in the hallway for you to read during conferences. 


Reading- This week we read a nonfiction story about the Everglades. A 5th grade class took a field trip to see them. The story really talks about how the Everglades are home to many different habitats and species. It also talked about how it needs saving. On Tuesday they had to find key details in the story to prove the author's purpose that it needed saving. Our grammar this week is writing compound sentences with a conjunction. We will also be writing complex sentences. Their spelling list was a list of homophones--words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and mean different things. 

Friday-- We will celebrate Halloween! They will participate in some games and activities provided by 6-8 graders. The Halloween parade will be at 2:30. You are welcome to join us in the gym for that! 

Iowa History Projects are due on Monday! Mrs. Sickels is planning on having the Iowa History Fair on Wednesday from 1:15-2:00 in the gym. You are welcome to attend!

I am heading to Doon this weekend. My plan is to bring my mom back here with me. She will stay with me for most of November, maybe all of it. We will have to see if she is enjoying her vacation away! :) Have a great weekend! Happy Halloween!
God Bless, Miss Surma