I hope you are all enjoying a nice, long weekend and staying cool! I'd like to extend an extra special thank you to everyone for sending your children to school with water bottles, fans, spray bottles, lightweight clothing, pony tails and great attitudes during this hot weather!
Since school has been canceled for Friday 9/2, and I was not able to send home Friday's spelling homework, I will try to explain the Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe homework here, on the blog. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me over the weekend.
Spelling
Friday, your child would have brought home his/her first Spelling “Tic-Tac-Toe” homework (Lesson 2). The spelling homework is due on Thursday. Due to the unexpected day off, the homework will be sent home on Wednesday of next week. I would like students to have more than one day to complete this homework, so I will post instructions to the blog, so your child will be able to start on it over the weekend and early next week. The class completed a “sample” Tic-Tac-Toe in class during the past week so they should all be familiar with the activities on the homework assignment for next Thursday.
Please click on the Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe Homework link in the right hand column of this blog for a copy of the Tic-Tac-Toe homework assignment. We completed Lesson 1 in class, so this week's homework is Lesson 2. (Lesson 2 can be found by scrolling down once you have entered the link.)
Your child will either be on the "Pattern" list or the "Alternate" list. Please check your email to find out which list your child is on this week.
Your child will either be on the "Pattern" list or the "Alternate" list. Please check your email to find out which list your child is on this week.
Tips:
· After your child completes each tic-tac-toe activity he/she should initial below the activity. (Note: 3 activities are required which includes the center square "Complete the spelling pattern worksheet"; if your child completes 5 or more activities, extra credit is earned.)
· A parent should sign on the parent signature line after you child has finished his/her homework.
· All written activities should be stapled to the back of the tic-tac-toe homework form. Please remind your child to put his or her name on each page that is turned in (just in case something gets loose). Please do not use paper clips to connect the homework pages together…papers are easily lost that way.
· Please remove the pre-test and spelling list that is stapled to the front of your tic-tac-toe form. These are for you to keep at home and refer to during the week…and beyond.
· Your child may want to do one activity per night during the school week. If, however, your child would like to complete the tic-tac-toe homework over the weekend, that is fine with me. Some students turn in their entire packet every Monday, while others choose to turn in the packet on Thursday morning.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me through email this weekend. Thank you, in advance, for overseeing your child’s spelling homework. The good news is…we completed one week’s worth of spelling homework in class—only 29 more weeks to go!
Writing
Writing
This week we have started to launch Writer's Workshop. We ahve been discussing questions like, Who writes? What do they write? Why do they write? Where do they get their ideas? Next week we will be exploring ideas more and crating lists of possible topics for the students to write on later in the year.
Reading
Harcourt-Trophies Text
Just For You - Theme 1: Being Me
On Wednesday, we will continue our whole group reading in the student's Harcourt-Trophies textbook. Starting Friday, the textbook will be sent home for weekend reading. You can check this blog to see which story we are reading and encourage your child to reread the story, review the vocabulary words and focus skill, and go over the "Think and Respond" questions at the end of the story. All of these study skills will help your child now, and later in the year, as we assess comprehension, context clues, vocabulary skills, fluency and reading written response. PLEASE RETURN YOUR CHILD'S TEXT EACH MONDAY. Your child will need his/her book for any open book assessment and the new week's in class lessons.
In the first reading theme of the year, children learn how people discover new things about themselves through experiences and relationships. They find that the differences among people make each person special. For the next five weeks, you may want review the importance of “Being Me” with your child after each story.
Harcourt-Trophies Text
Just For You - Theme 1: Being Me
On Wednesday, we will continue our whole group reading in the student's Harcourt-Trophies textbook. Starting Friday, the textbook will be sent home for weekend reading. You can check this blog to see which story we are reading and encourage your child to reread the story, review the vocabulary words and focus skill, and go over the "Think and Respond" questions at the end of the story. All of these study skills will help your child now, and later in the year, as we assess comprehension, context clues, vocabulary skills, fluency and reading written response. PLEASE RETURN YOUR CHILD'S TEXT EACH MONDAY. Your child will need his/her book for any open book assessment and the new week's in class lessons.
In the first reading theme of the year, children learn how people discover new things about themselves through experiences and relationships. They find that the differences among people make each person special. For the next five weeks, you may want review the importance of “Being Me” with your child after each story.
Social Studies
This week in Social studies we have been talking about Communities. We have talked about good citizenship in the community, what it is and what it looks like. Using Google Earth, we will explore where our community is in relation to the world, the continent, the country and the state. We are beginning to discuss the three kinds of communities - rural, urban and suburban. Our communities unit will continue on for the next few weeks.
Math
We also began our Otter Creek Mastering Math Facts program this week. Children were given a placement test to determine at what level they would begin and a handwriting test to determine what their 1-minute and 2-minute timing goals should be. We've been practicing and had our first 1-minute timing on Thursday. Each week your child will bring home his/her most recent 1-minute timing. This will let you know what level your child is currently working on. For further information about this program please click on the link in the right hand column of this blog: Math Practice Sights - Mastering Math Facts Practice Sets.
