Dear Parents,
Thank you for visiting today! Below you will find what we've been studying this week in class. Make sure you check out the class news below for important information.
Phonics/Spelling: This week, we focused on the short and long i spellings of words (CVC, CVCe) or the short and long u spellings of words (CVC, CVVC, and CVCe). We also had five bonus words that are expected to be spelled correctly from this point forward. Keep in mind the purpose of spelling is not to learn the words for the test that Friday, but to consistently spell them correctly when writing.
Math: We focused on patterns in math that will help us as we move into addition and subtraction strategies with double digit numbers next week. We worked a lot with a hundred chart and how we can use it to help us mentally as we move forward. We also learned how to play TILE MATH, which focuses on fluently adding and subtracting numbers with sums/differences to 20.
Reading: We read an informational book called They Worked Together about different groups of people who worked together to achieve a goal (Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, and Lewis and Clark). We compared informational texts to literary texts. We also created a chart that shows the text features often found in informational texts (glossary, index, bold or italic words, headings, subheadings, table of contents, captions, labels, etc). We worked in small groups on asking questions while reading passages to help with our comprehension skills.
Writing: We reviewed several mentor texts (books written by FABULOUS authors) that showed us how to use the strategy of "showing" with words what the author is trying to convey rather than simply "telling". We also learned how to use our FIVE SENSES to write interesting stories with rich detail. We went to our nature area by the front of the school and wrote what we saw, heard, felt, and smelled. We then took those ideas and turned them into a wonderfully descriptive paragraph.
Social Studies: We began our unit on the Creek people. We learned all about their towns, homes, gardens, and lifestyle. We are studying this native American group because they inhabited what is now Georgia. We are working on a book about the Creek and Cherokee people that will show how their lifestyles compare to each others and to ours.
Class News and Reminders...
Congratulations to Kayla DeFoor for being chosen as our CELEBRITY last week! Way to go with that AWESOME behavior!
Friday, your child had a story bit homework assignment. Remember, you are supposed to be able to understand the main idea in the story and the important details based on what your child is able to convey to you orally about the book. This homework is a way to increase your child's vocabulary, practice the art of conversation, and also check your child's comprehension. If you find this is difficult for your child, this should be something you are doing with every book your child reads at night.
Thank you Mrs. DeFoor, Mrs. Abrams, and Mrs. Newlin for helping in the classroom this week!
Thank you to those families who donated books from the book fair to our classroom library! What awesome additions!
Encourage your child to work on practicing one or two OSCARS items! This is a wonderful way for your child to choose a topic that he/she is interested in and, at the same time, provide a more meaningful and longer lasting educational experience. We have a parent coming in every Thursday to administer whatever test your child needs.
Also remember that AR is available on almost every book you can possibly have at home. I don't want your child to forgo reading a great chapter book that he/she is interested in just to be able to read and take tests on a daily basis. Encourage your child to read that chapter book; it is more than likely an AR book and worth more points than the simple picture books. I am also going to be blocking any books with an AR level of less than a 2.0, which is where all children should be at this point in the year.
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