Dear Parents,
October 11, 2011
I hope you had a sensational long weekend. Here’s what is happening this week.
Reading- The story we are reading this week is called Balto, the Dog Who Saved
Nome. The skills I will cover are to classify word relationships, to use common and
proper correctly, and to read and understand a narrative nonfiction selection. In
addition, we have started the next reading strategy called Activate and Connect. In
this strategy, we focus on using our background knowledge and nonfiction text
features to make sense of nonfiction text. Every Day 5, there will be Daily Language
Quiz and the grammar quiz.
Math- Please keep working toward mastery of the addition/subtraction facts. This
week we’ll begin the trade-first algorithm (subtraction).
Science- We are working our way through Sun, Moon, and Stars Unit. I will be
administering the I-Check for Investigation #2 on Friday, October 14th. The last
portion of the unit will be on stars.
The solar system project will be assigned this week. I plan on talking to the kids
about the project on Thursday. The children will bring home a packet describing the
project. The due date will be October 28th. If you have any questions as to how to
present any of the necessary parts, please ask. I am going to go over the how to’s in
class and answer their questions about the project. I encourage you to help your
child follow the guidelines presented in the rubric. The rubric tells specifically how
to earn the highest possible points. The project will carry the weight of a test grade
in science. Please guide your child in completing the project (researching,
answering questions, time management, and gathering materials, but please do not
do the project for them-thanks). There is an abundance of information available
about the planets. The packet provides the key points that need to be researched.
When purchasing your poster board, try to buy the smaller version. I know I’ve
bought those at the Dollar Store. The larger ones are too big making it hard to hang
all posters. You may even cut the largest poster in half. Also, please do not use the
thick poster board. They too are hard to hang. If you look at the last page of the
packet, it shows specifically how to arrange the information on the poster. If you
have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Thanks for your support and have
fun working with your child.
*October book orders are due on October 12th.
*Sward Eagle Assembly on October 12th: Gr. 1 & 2 @1:00, Gr. 3 & 4 @ 2:00
*There will be book checkout on Day 1, Thursday, October 13th.
*Samantha Mayo is sharing her poster this week. Thanks for telling us more about
you, Samantha.
*Mid-trimester progress reports will be sent home on Friday, October 14th.
Have a marvelous week!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Rizzo