Oct. 23, 2015
Hello,
Our class has been working so hard! They are very focused on being great writers. This week
the students read about bats and have done nonfiction writing based on their learning. We now
have a "bat roost" in our room with all their facts. Next week we will begin our in-depth study
of fiction. Up until now, we have learned about nonfiction, fiction, and poetry in a superficial
way. As we delve into fiction, we will also be learning about personal narrative writing and
fable/fairy tale writing.
We are just finishing a math unit which has included expression of numbers in different forms ...
as words, as tally marks, as base ten blocks, in "expanded form". We also are completing a study
of graphs and data analysis. We will take a test on these concepts next week.
We have started our study of weather and are learning about the water cycle. Please ask your
child if they can explain the cycle to you (water evaporates because of the sun's heat; it goes into
the air as vapor; it cools down and turns into water drops in condensation; those drops come
together to form clouds; then the water returns to the earth as precipitation (rain or snow).
HALLOWEEN NEWS: - our wonderful room mothers, as well as a kind group of volunteers, are
planning our party for next Friday afternoon. Students should not wear their costume to school,
unless parts of it are part of their everyday clothing. We will have a few minutes to put on
costumes around 1:00 in the afternoon, before the parade and party. I explained to the class
today that they should not come to school wearing makeup or face paint. Because our
celebration is long after recess and lunch, most of the makeup/paint would have smeared
off. There is not time or space for students to apply makeup here, even to do touchups. They
can save it as a special element of their trick-or-treating costume after school. Also, students
may not bring any sort of weapon, or pretend weapon. If you have questions about your child's
costume, please feel free to contact me.
And my final reminder - your child has homework due on MONDAY! There is the math packet,
the calendar, and a response about a book they read this week. A few children also brought
home some unfinished work about capital letters.
Enjoy the weekend!
Robin Kern