Working Hard

Please click on the link above to see your conference time. I look forward to seeing everyone in two weeks.
Let me know if you have any questions about the Six Flags Reading Incentive. I am happy to give you forms for siblings AT IRVING if you would use the tickets. The same rules would apply: It has to be reading above and beyond what is assigned. You can go to the Read to Succeed site if you have any questions. It is linked on the left.

Reading: Last week we finished up the Unit on Animal Camouflage in our Open Court books. This week we started on Fossils. This unit is a lot of fun. It is full of great expository texts, which allow us to practice many new reading and writing strategies.
Math: We continue to work on geometry concepts. This week we constructed pyramids, reviewed parallel lines and talked about 3 dimensional shapes. We also continue to practice our computation strategies and practice telling time.
Social Studies: We have been talking about traditions and customs. We have learned many Chinese traditions while we read the book The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. While we read this novel during our reading groups, there are many opportunities for us to practice our Social Studies vocabulary.
Links:

• There is a link in our Language Arts section for Grace Lin's site. Your child might enjoy reading some of her other books or you might enjoy reading one as a family.
• There is also a link for your child to practice the Social Studies vocabulary words. This is the same game, with different words, that was linked in the beginning of the year.
• Be sure to encourage your child to go on xtra math whenever there is a chance. It makes a HUGE difference.
• If your child is missing some of the states on the weekly quizzes, be sure to use the games as a resource for practicing the new states.
• Highlights for Kids is fun and has great grade level reading passages. I would certainly accept Highlights for Kids passages for reading logs or for the Six Flags incentive.

Busy Week

If you have not already signed up for a conference time, please do so right away. I will make a schedule this weekend and send it home with the homework on Tuesday.
Reading: We read the folktale, How the Guinea Fowl Got her Spots this week. It was full of rich vocabulary that the students quickly used in everyday sentences.
BOOK CLUB: On Friday we had our first BOOK CLUB. It is an opportunity for the students to gather around, perhaps have a snack, and discuss a book that we all read. Right now our club is reading a novel called The Year of the Dog. Some students are reading this novel independently. Others are reading it with partners and others with more support. It is a wonderful novel about a little girl who is discovering who she is, both culturally and personally. We had an AMAZING discussion about growing up in families with special customs that are different from those around us. We will have book club every Friday to discuss this book. If you would like to provide a VERY simple snack for our book club, let me know. If you go to a book club, talk to your child about some of the things you do in your book club.
Math: We started our unit on geometry this week. We learned about line segments and attributes. We also practiced a lot of addition strategies.
Social Studies: We are learning about family traditions and customs and culture. The vocabulary has helped us discuss our book!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope you were able to find some time to relax over the two week winter break. The New Year is a good time to refresh supplies. Please check with your child to see if she needs pencils, a sharpener or crayons.
Reading: We continue to read stories about animal camouflage. This week we learned about how sea creatures use camouflage. How to Hide an Octopus and Other Sea Creatures is a fascinating non-fiction selection about many interesting sea animals. We worked on differentiating between fact and opinion. We also talked about author's purpose.
Math: We continue to work on algorithms for addition as well as making sure there is a conceptual understanding of our base ten number system. We will take our final unit assessment in a few days and begin a unit on Geometry next week.
Social Studies: We began to study Ways of Living during our Social Studies time. We are learning about culture, customs and traditions. We will also explore national monuments and American symbols through some small group cooperative projects. We are also creating a time line of Martin Luther King Jr's life.

Announcements/Planning Ahead

• In the January 31st Homework packet there will be instructions for beginning an at home project on a dinosaur. This correlates with our next reading unit, Dinosaurs, and our science unit on Rocks, Fossils and Soil. Your child will have a month to complete the project and presentation. Homework will be adjusted to allow time to work on the project.
• Our class will be taking a field trip to the Field Museum on Tuesday, February 22. If you think you would like to join us, let me know. I would like at least 5 chaperones for this trip.
• There is no school on January 17 in observation of Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. There is no school on January 24 for Teacher Institute Day.
• I will be creating an online form/survey to sign up for our next conferences, which are scheduled the week of January 31-February 4. Please check your email next week for this. Slots will be filled on a first response, first served basis.