Week of January 22

Hello everyone! We have a few updates to share with you all. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog!

Things Happening at TCE:

• At our Winter Party, we gave the students a coupon book as their Holiday Gift. The coupon book has one coupon for each month. We will be letting them redeem the January coupon this Wednesday, January 24th. To accompany their coupon on Wednesday, they may bring one pillow or stuffed animal to keep by their side as we read. 

• The learners will be given the chance to participate in the Six Flags Reading Log Challenge to earn a free Six Flags ticket. The reading logs were sent home earlier this week, and they are due February 23rd. 

Homework Updates: 
Now that we are farther into the year, we will be adding a few pieces of homework back into the learners' routines. Math homework started this week, and reading homework will be assigned for the first time on Friday, January 26th. 

Math Homework: 
The learners are still expected to complete Reflex Math 2-3 times a week. 
In addition, we have started sending home weekly math packets again. The math homework packet will go home every Friday, and will be due the following Friday. 

Reading Homework: 
Learners will be expected to login to Raz-Kids and read for at least 15 minutes twice a week. The learners may read any book that is available to them when they login. It is not necessary for parents to sign off on a log because we are able to see their activity when we login to the app. 

In addition, we will be starting a passage of the week. Each Friday, learners will receive a short passage, and they will be expected to complete a short activity with the passage each day. The learners will receive their first passage on Friday, January 26th. You can see the instructions below.

Curriculum Tidbits:

Math:

In math, we are beginning our next unit over multiplication. The learners will use strategies and algorithms, including the standard algorithm, to multiply up to a four-digit number by a one-digit number and to multiply a two-digit number by a two-digit number. Strategies may include mental math, partial products, and the commutative, associative, and distributive properties.

Science:

In science, we are wrapping up our unit over Earth’s resources. The learners will be completing a project where they will be developing a presentation, brochure, or video that explains to the community the importance of recycling and conservation and explains both renewable and nonrenewable resources.

Language Arts:

In reading, we are starting a new unit on Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions. Ask your son or daughter about what they learned about their teacher's Mystery Garbage! 

In writing, we have just completed another expository essay about which pet would be the best. Their essays turned out wonderfully! We have also just completed our Middle of the Year Writing Assessment. 

Social Studies:

In social studies, students will continue their study of the Texas Revolution as they Remember the Alamo and then march on to win the Battle of San Jacinto.


We really appreciate you taking a few minutes to read our blog post. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your son or daughter's homeroom teacher. 

Week of January 8th

Hello everyone! We hope that you and your family had an enjoyable Winter Break. We are back in full swing at TCE. 

We have a few updates to share with you all. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog!

Things Happening at TCE:

• Skate Night is Wednesday, January 10th from 6:00-8:00 PM. All TCE Families are invited to attend! 

New Resources at TCE: 

We have recently acquired a few new digital resources for our learners to use in class. We are really excited about these resources, some of which are because of PTO's generosity. 

Spelling City Premium Accounts

Each learner has an individual account. The learners can login at school or at home, and once they are logged in, they can play various games to practice the spelling words. In addition, when they take the weekly pretest on Mondays, we are able to see the results digitally. It will be a great tool for our spelling instruction! 

Raz Kids

If you have a learner in K-2, you might already be familiar with this resource. Now each learner in 3rd-5th grade will have an individual account on Raz Kids as well. Learners will have access to leveled texts and reading activities. We will be exploring this resource in class over the next few weeks.

Flocabulary
Learners will have access to Flocabulary through their teachers' accounts. Flocabulary is a great resource for learning new information through music, and it something we will use in all subject areas. 

Curriculum Tidbits:

Math:

In math, we are continuing our unit over fractions to learn about how to identify and create equivalent fractions, compare fractions with different numerators and denominators, and solve addition and subtraction problems involving fractions with the same denominator.

Science:

In science, the learners will continue to investigate the 3 types of Earth’s resources: Renewable, Non Renewable, and Inexhaustible . The learners will also investigate the human impact on these different resources.

Language Arts:

In writing, we will be continuing to work on completing the writing process using the Six Traits of writing. Recently, we have been writing about an item from our home we would give to a family that is less fortunate. Later this week, we will begin writing about what kind of pet we would like to have and why we would choose that pet. We will take our mid-year writing assessment at the end of the month. 

Social Studies:

In social studies, students will begin learning about the Texas Revolution.


We really appreciate you taking a few minutes to read our blog post. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your son or daughter's homeroom teacher.