Dear Parents,
We have a great start to the New Year! The kids are busy and learning a ton.
Highlights
In Language Arts, we have begun our survival fiction unit and are well into our novels. There are four book groups reading either Julie of the Wolves, My Side of the Mountain, Island of the Blue Dolphins, or Hatchet. All of these books are great examples of survival fiction but have very different settings. This lends itself to discussion (heated debate) about what is most important to have in a survival kit and how that changes depending on where you are. For this unit, a modest number of pages will be assigned nightly along with reading response. They are all very excited to read, read, read but I ask them not to read ahead so they have time to reflect and respond. We are also reading The Sign of the Beaver as a read aloud. It is a great book with so many opportunites for the kids to make connections with their book group books and what they are talking about in Social Studies. We will end the unit with a fun project.
In writing, we are continuing to work on writing paragraphs with topic, supporting, and closing sentences. We are just finishing a three-paragraph writing piece reflecting on 2011 and anticipating 2012. They are working hard. Next week, they will begin non-fiction writing as they write about their assigned planets. We will construct several paragraphs, one at a time, and then put them together in essay form. They will research their planets using books, the internet, and magazines.
In Word Study, we are moving on to new word groups and the kids are enjoying it! Our next sort will be a concept sort related to words we are finding in our novels.
In Math, we have moved into Measurement and began with customary units of measure, namely inches, feet, and yards. We have been practicing with rulers and measuring to the nearest inch. This coming week, we will measure to the nearest half inch and practice using yard sticks. From there we will move into the metric system. Measurement is a fun, hands-on unit. We will be continuing with number operations throughout this unit as well.
In Social Studies the class is learning about Jamestown and the early settlers in Virginia. They are creating a yearbook of important people during this time. It is a fun project that they are very excited about. They are learning a ton.
In Science, we are learning about the solar system. The kids have been broken up into pairs, or flight crews, who will explore a specific planet together. They created badges for their crew and are now doing research. As mentioned above, we will use this research in Writer's Workshop as we write essays about the planets. In addition, the students will be creating virtual postcards and will make some sort of model of each planet. This unit also ties into our measurement unit in math. They are loving it!
Reminders and Announcements
- In honor of MLK, there is no school tomorrow. See you all on Tuesday!
- Please, please, please send your child to school with jackets, and on really cold days gloves and hats. We do go outside, even when it is cold.
- Don't forget to pack water bottles!
- Next Saturday is Smurf Night at CDS and it is sure to be a fun night for the kids. To sign up, please contact Kim.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
I hope you all are staying warm! Hopefully there will be some snow this winter.
Best,
Annelise
-
