October 15th - 19th

Dear families,

Wow! Is it just me or did another week just whiz by? As we've been practicing with our th, ch, sh, and wh skills this week, I just couldn't resist throwing a "wh" word into the first sentence! Okay, are you ready for our joke of the week? Drum rolls please .... What do elves learn in school? The elf-abet!! :D

Reading Workshop:

This week in Reading Workshop we will continue our study of expository text.  As a class we made an anchor chart to learn about the features of nonfiction.  We concluded that the purpose of reading nonfiction text is to learn! 

We will discuss the differences between fiction and nonfiction.  One difference is that we read a fiction text from beginning to end.  Most of time we read the parts of nonfiction text which holds the information we want to know.  Talk to your child about their favorite feature of nonfiction.

This week we will be reading texts about Spiders to learn more about the creepy crawly friends with eight legs!

 Writing Workshop:

This week in Writing Workshop we will be building our knowledge of writing facts.  We will model how to read a book, think about what you’ve learned and write a fact in your own words.  We will practice this skill by reading expository texts on our own level and writing the facts that interest us.

 Math:

This week in math we will continue learning how numbers can be broken apart and put together in a variety of ways (decomposing and composing).  The students will develop strategies for counting and combining groups of dots using ten-frames.  We will play some games about missing parts with our math focus on: Solving a problem in which the total and one part are known, finding relationships among different combinations of numbers up to 10, using numbers to record,  and using 5 + 5 to reason about other combinations of 10.  We will continue problem solving that incorporates the processes of understanding the problem, making a plan, carrying out the plan, and evaluating the solution for reasonableness.

Science:

We are moving back into science this week, and our focus will be on force, motion, and energy. We will be learning about what causes movement, how different types of movements are made, and that force, motion, energy, and time are related and are a part of our everyday lives. The students will be setting up a simple experiment, making predictions as to the outcome of the experiment, and recording observations. This is another hands-on week in science that we are excited about!

Reminders:

Thursday, October 18 5:30pm  Give a Hoot Picnic

Wednesday, October 24^th  Early Release

 Library books are due on Tuesday.

Thanks to…

Tuesday Folders: Alina Postelnicu

Copies and cutting: Alina Postelnicu

Computer Lab: Carl Alagar

Homework Helpers: Jen VanMetre and Santrupta Bhatia

Thursday Chores: Lissa Anderson

Friday Reader: David Horsey

Thank you also, to all of you who are working with your children at home with their homework packets. You make a HUGE difference in their lives and mine! I appreciate you!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Mrs. Leyva