November 9, 2009

November 16, 2009

READING

This week the children will be reviewing the skills and vocabulary from the last 4 stories.  There will be 2 short stories that we will read, and the children will be involved in some assessment activities.  The new vocabulary words will be:  bloomed, lupines, (a type of flower), bushels, headlands, hollows, unity, hosts, elaborate, feast, and chef.  Any practice at home with these words would be helpful. There will be a quiz on Friday.

Next week we will begin a new theme called "Incredible Stories."  This is a favorite for the children as the stories are filled with fantasy and adventure. The new vocabulary words will be:  colossal, creature, heroic, monstrous, terrifying, tremendous, and horrifying. The children will be bringing home their story books to share the new story with you.   

The children are also working on WRITING SKILLS in class. Our writers' workshop classes involve coming up with ideas, memories, special people, places, and things that stand out in the students' minds. We will be writing more involved stories as the weeks progress. Anytime that your child has a chance to write about something in his/her life, please encourage him/her to take a notebook and just WRITE!

MATH

The children are busy working on telling time to the minute, figuring out how much time has passed in stories, reading calendars, and understanding the months and days of the week.  After this section, the children will move on to measurement.  Please encourage your child to use measuring tools at home...measuring cups, spoons, rulers, yardsticks, etc. The vocabulary words are challenging, and hands-on activities help greatly with concept understanding.  There will be daily homework as usual, and  there will also be some weekend homework .

SPELLING

Our spelling words this week are review words.  Most of the children passed the pretest as they have already studied the words over the last few weeks.  Sentences for words missed are due on Thursday this week. There will be a test on Friday on all of the words for those who had below a 90% on the pretest.

Next week the spelling list will cover words with the ou, ow  sounds. The words will be: clown, lawn, sound, talk, cloth, would, also, mouth, crown, soft, count, and law.  Sentences will be due on Thursday , and the test will be on Friday.

 

SCIENCE

Our unit in Science is on the Solar System. This has been an exciting unit with constantly changing information. The class is researching planets, memorizing the order of the planets, learning about asteroids, comets, the sun, stars, and the International Space Station. If anyone has information or books on this topic, please send them to school. We all love to learn new things every day! Ask your children about the 3 dwarf planets that have been identified...now we really could say that we have 11 planets!

Have a wonderful few weeks, and stay warm!!

Sincerely,

Kathy O'Shaughnessy