November 2, 2015
November already? Where has the time gone!
Below is important information regarding the upcoming month, please take note of the changes!
Words Their Way
We will be changing our Words Their Way routine slightly over the next few weeks as we move
into the second trimester. For the next two weeks, we will be practicing Words Their Way sorts in
class, but there will be no homework and no spelling tests. The next Words Their Way sort will go
home the week of November 16th and our next spelling test will be November 20th. At that time
we will return to our regular schedule of practicing a new sort each week and testing on the
words on Fridays. Tomorrow, your child will have the new spelling test schedule in the plastic
sleeve in their red take home folder. Please leave this paper in the sleeve for the remainder of
the trimester (it is a yellow page). This is also available on our website.
Celebrations
Thank you to all those who helped organize, donated supplies, and came in to our classroom for
the Halloween party. The kids had an amazing time and we greatly appreciated your efforts! A
special thank you for the beautiful flowers, gift cards, and incredible hand-made cards for my
birthday. Your kindness and generosity made my day extra special!
Miscellaneous
~In your child’s take home folder today are many important papers:
*Book Order forms. These are due November 20th, you may notice there are extra catalogs this
month in case you are looking to purchase gifts! This order will be delivered in time for the
holiday season.
*November Reading Calendar. Please be sure to record any time your child is reading, being read
to, or listening to stories on the computer. Keep up the great work!
*Read to Succeed Recording Sheet. This year our class is participating in Great America’s Read To
Succeed Program. If your child reads for 6 hours of recreational reading before February 22nd,
they earn a free ticket to Great America to use over the summer! The parent letter explains
the program in more detail. If you misplace the letter or the reading log, copies of both are
available on our website.
*Parent Teacher Conference Reminders. Please check your conference date and time and be sure
it is correct! There are also copies of my schedule available on our website if you misplace the
pink reminder slip.
~The 50th day of school is this Wednesday November 4th. Send your child in their best 50’s attire
if possible! This week’s homework (sent home last Friday) contains different ideas for dressing
up, a few math activities to complete, and a reading response page all due Thursday.
~Throughout the week your child will be taking home different assessments from this trimester
that I have used to track their progress (mostly math pages). These pages can now be kept at
home and reviewed with your child.
Important Dates To Remember
October Calendar and Firefighter Homework Due: November 2nd
PTO Meeting: November 3rd, 7:00
Institute Day-No School: November 6th
Veteran’s Day-No School: November 11th
Book Fair (more information to come later): November 18-24
Parent Teacher Conferences: November 19th and November 23rd
Book Orders Due: November 20th
Box Tops Collection: November 24th
Thanksgiving Break-No School: November 25-27
Reading Calendar Due: November 30th
Reading
We are working through our Fiction unit! Recently we have read the book Poppleton and discussed
Poppleton as a character and words we could use to describe him. We have also been practicing
thinking while we are reading. We read books from our book bins and placed post it notes on
different pages where we found something funny, something that made us wonder, or
something that reminded us of our own lives. We will do this periodically throughout the year to
encourage deeper thinking while we are reading.
Writing
In writing we are starting to write a personal narrative in which the students write about an
event that happened to them. We will discuss the structure of a story and the importance of
adding details as an author that a reader would like to know! We are also continuing to monitor
our spaces, capitals, periods, and spelling of sight words while we write.
Math
In math we are wrapping up non-standard units of measurement. Our next module consists of
grouping objects into groups of tens and ones; look out for the parent letter this week! We will
spend time counting by tens and understanding the meaning behind the number words. For
example, we have discussed that the “ty” on the end of words like “seventy” or “forty” is telling
us the number of tens in that number (sixty has six groups of ten).
Science
Each student used the app PicCollage to create a collage describing properties of one of their
rocks. They were able to take a picture of their rock, type two properties and their name,
change the background of their collage, and save it to their Ipad. These collages will be on display
in our room and the students are becoming more familiar with using the Ipads! We are now
discussing the way rocks can change and the difference between weathering and erosion.