Dear Room 23 Families,
I hope you all had a nice long weekend. I sure
did, however I’m always happy to be back at school with my wonderful students!
Students are coming home today with their green
folders. Please be on the lookout for
the following:
1.
This
week’s homework packet (due every Friday, along with the
green folder)
2.
Last
week’s homework packet – please take time to review my
comments with your child and come up with a plan for improvement this week.
3.
Chorus
Contract and sign-up sheet (please return as soon as
possible, but no later than next Tuesday). This wonderful program is funded by
Kiddo! and participation is highly encouraged. Students who attend chorus will
not miss instructional time in class. I will say more about this at Back to
School Night.
4.
The
“Math Review” for the week. The
purpose of the math review is for students to continue developing and practicing
math computation skills, while concurrently working within our Everyday Math
program. For example, during daily math lessons this week, we’re studying the
number grid, math tools, and reviewing telling time. However, we will also
spend time developing math computation skills daily, and then students will
demonstrate their understanding of the week’s computation skills on the Friday
math review. Students will correct their work as needed in correcting pen and
then bring the assignment home for your review/discussion. These do not need to
be signed and returned.
Second, here are a few important reminders about our weekly schedule.
1.
Art
class is every Monday at the end of the day. If it’s
your child’s art week, he/she will be dismissed directly from art.
2.
We have library
class every Thursday. Please help your child remember to bring his/her
library books to school on Thursdays.
3.
Students are dismissed directly from PE on Fridays.
I look forward to seeing you all at Back to School Night on Thursday, of
next week (September 13). We’ll be in the classroom from 6:00-6:45 following
our Principal’s presentation in the multipurpose room from 5:30-5:50.
Below you will find a brief outline of what we’ve
been working on in class, as well as what’s to come.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Teresa Shern
Reading: We are working on “Building
a Reading Life” during Reader’s Workshop. This week we talked about what helps
us to be successful with reading. Students came up with great ideas regarding
their own reading and how they can continue to build on their skills. We are
also doing a read aloud of Firefly Hollow, by Alison McGhee. It’s a
wonderful story of adventure and friendship between four unlikely creatures.
Writing: We are working on a creative
writing piece based off of the picture book The Day the Crayons Quit, by
Drew Daywalt. Students spent time brainstorming objects they own that might
decide to “quit” on them. They “tried out” three different topics and chose one
to write about. The next step will be to write a letter from the object to
them. They will illustrate this as well. This project not only asks students to
write creatively, but it also begins to teach letter writing.
Math: We began our first unit of
study focusing on number sequences and number grids. We will move toward
analyzing and displaying data as well as working with time and money.
Social studies and science will begin later this week,
focusing on the Miwok Native American tribe. Our study will begin with the
differences between natural resources and artifacts. Along with this, we will
practice scientific observation and doing scientific drawings to support and
develop our thinking.
