November 26, 2013
Dear Families,
As we move into our Thanksgiving break, I am especially conscious of how thankful I am to be working with your children. They have come so far already in the few short months we have been working together. As a class, we have come together as a community - supporting one another without fear of judgement and celebrating each other's successes. I am so grateful everyday to work with a group of individuals that are so naturally kind hearted, creative, and hard working.
As you know, we have been continuing our author study, focusing on Kate DiCamillo. We have completed The Magician's Elephant and The Tale of Despereaux. We had the opportunity today to watch the film version of The Tale of Despereaux and compare the similarities and differences. We found that most of us preferred the book to the movie, due to Kate DiCamillo's incredibly descriptive language and the ability she has to draw the reader into the story. We shared a special treat of popcorn that made our viewing experience even more exciting! Thank you for also making our comfy/cozy day a success! The kids had a blast and all looked adorable in their PJ's.
In math, we have finished up our unit on area and perimeter. We are putting the final touches on our dream houses, which showcase all that we have learned about area and perimeter up to this point. Our class has done a nice job of adjusting to the challenges set before them in regards to this skill. They are ready to apply this knowledge to the process of multiplication. I have seen many students already recognizing the relationship between area / perimeter and multiplication, which is very exciting! As we return from break, we will begin the process of learning our multiplication facts in addition to learning a variety of strategies to solve multiplication problems. Get ready to practice fact fluency at home!
Social Studies has brought us to the study of the regions of the United States. We just finished our investigation of the Northeast region and have discovered many things about the area in which we live. We have learned about important landmarks, products, cities, etc. We will continue this study of regions when we return from break. After we have studied the remainder of the regions, we will move on to our study of earth sciences.
On Monday, we will be sending home permission forms for our very first field trip. Our grade level will be attending the Bow High School production of Peter Pan: A Musical. We will be examining story elements as performed on stage! We will focus on character traits/motivation/impact on the story. It should be a very enjoyable time! I will be looking for parent volunteers to join us at the high school that day as chaperones as well.
We are also continuing our PJ drive. All donations are due by Dec. 12. We have already had a wonderful bunch of PJ's donated and look forward to seeing the other additions to our collection. This is a wonderful gift given to those in need and we appreciate any and all help that has been given already!
Report cards will be going home on Dec. 12 as well. A reminder letter will be sent home about the new report card rating scale.
Please be aware that we do not have school tomorrow, Wednesday 11/27. Enjoy your long weekend. Spend time with family, friends and good food! I hope you all share in things you are thankful for and enjoy your time together.
No comments:
Post a Comment