- January 6th: NO SCHOOL
- January 20th: NO SCHOOL
READING/SOCIAL STUDIES
As readers, we will be doing an integrated 3 week mini-unit that will help us grow as readers and historians. We will hone all the great non-fiction reading strategies we built in the last unit as we read biographies to learn about important people and how they impacted our world. Determining importance, asking questions as we read, and learning strategies to synthesize our learning will be a big part of our mission as readers. We will also learn to think like a historian, using and creating timelines, examining multiple sources, and considering how a person can impact their community or world. We will be creating some great projects to share our learning towards the end of the month.
WRITING
We will wrap up our Informational Writing Unit during the first few weeks of January, In this final bend, students will plan and write their own “how to” chapter books, incorporating science content, along with strategies to write books that teach. Some of our teaching points will include:
- Planning with a Table of Contents
- Drafting and Revising With Feedback
- Studying Mentor Texts
- Using Comparison
- Going Deeper to Incorporate Science Writing
- Addressing an Audience with Strong Introductions and Conclusions
- Editing with a Checklist
In Topic 5, students will learn various strategies to subtract within 100. We will build upon previously taught addition strategies to fluently subtract within 100. During this unit students will be focusing on the following:
- Using place value (tens and ones) to subtract
- Using an open number line to subtract tens and ones within 100
- Subtracting 2 digit numbers using models
- Subtracting and breaking apart numbers using mental math and compensation
- Modeling one and two step problems
- Selecting the most efficient strategy to solve a math problem
HELPING YOUR CHILD WITH MATH
- Helping your child with math: Click Here
- Math Words and Ideas: Click Here
- Investigations Game Center: Math Games
It is so exciting to see the progress students are making in their spelling. Students were given a spelling inventory before Thanksgiving break and some students moved into different groups based on the results of their assessment, weekly spelling test scores, and spelling quizzes. Spelling groups were formed based on their understanding of spelling patterns and their regular application of these patterns in both their spelling tests and daily writing. Please continue to support your child by making sure that their word sorts are practiced daily along with the 5 “No Excuse Words” and challenge word of the week. Using the sorts throughout the week helps your child develop the spelling pattern they are working on for the week.
