November 11-15, 2013

DearFamilies and Friends,

Hello there. I hope you are all well and able to spend quality time with your family this weekend. There is always so much to do in Austin, and this such a perfect time of year here for riding bikes, going for walks, hiking, kayaking... you name it! This is also an exciting time in our classroom! If your child has not told you about our Pilgrim research or our use of magnets in the classroom, please ask what we have been learning as we have been ENGAGED! By the way, last week's rain brought on a silly joke from one of the children on Wednesday. Here it goes, "What day is it?" I answered, "Wednesday." The student replied, "Well actually, it's Wetsday!" Funny!! :D 

Math: This week we will be continuing our unit on Addition Strategies that focus on Computational Fluency (quick math fact recall).  We will discuss strategies that count on 2 and count on 0.  These skills help children build their computational knowledge as they learn thinking strategies.  Children will relate their knowledge of solving math facts when they are problem solving now and later in life.

Reading Workshop: This week, we will continue our research on Thanksgiving.  We are learning to read Expository Texts for the purpose of finding the answer to a question.  We are also learning to take notes. 

Please read, read, read and DISCUSS what has been read with your child. Reading daily is the first step to fluency, but there is so much more! Let's challenge ourselves and our children each night and discuss what has been read. Please use the discussion cards that I send home with your child as prompts to analyze and dig deeper into what has been read. You can guide your child into a richer and fuller understanding of the text that has been read and the world around them by taking 5 - 10 minutes daily to discuss together directly after reading. By doing this, you are building knowledge within your child and training them to think more deeply, to make predictions, to analyze, to connect prior learning, and SO MUCH MORE! Please take my challenge to challenge yourself and your child for only 5 - 10 minutes for 5 days a week, each week. After a few weeks, you will be AMAZED at the power of practicing reading this way when you hear your child's improved understandings and connections! 

Writing Workshop: Our research of the first Thanksgiving is well under way. We have already read several books about the first Pilgrims to settle in the United States of America, the Native American Indians, the Mayflower, and the first feast with the two different cultures together to celebrate a new beginning and a bountiful harvest. We have been learning so much about the history of our country and are excited to continue researching and writing. We will even be sighting our works and making a glossary in our research writings this week! By the way, please ask your child what a glossary is, where it can be found, and why we would want to use one.

Science: This week in science we will use our knowledge and understanding of energy and force to learn about how energy, force and movement are related.  Energy causes force and force causes movement. We will explore how objects change location when they move such as moving closer to, nearer to, and farther from.  We will also demonstrate and record ways that objects can move such as in a straight line, zig zag, up and down, back and forth, round and round, and fast and slow.

Habit #5:  Seek first to understand, then to be understood.  I listen to others without interrupting.  I try to see things from their viewpoint.  I am confident in voicing my own ideas.

 

THANK YOU! to all of the parent volunteers this week who read with the children, helped assemble and file homework, helped in the computer lab, and helped with general chores! We NEED you!

Reminders:

*Please remember to send a healthy snack every day.  Snack time is @ 9:30am.

*Make sure your child wears tennis shoes every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

*Library day is Thursday.

*Please remember to return your child’s book bag and all contents every Friday morning.

Dates to remember:

November 13:  Family Skate Night

November 27-29:  Thanksgiving Holidays

December 4:  Early Release Day

December 5:  Family Art Night

December 9-13:  Book Fair

December 23:  Winter Break Begins