January 28- February 1

WRITING:
Persuasive writing will continue and we will use the knowledge of persuasion and author's purpose PIE to write our own commercial from the view point of a character we create in class.  Using our OREO (Opinion, Reasons, Examples, Opinion restated) outline, students will go through the writing process and will end the week by publishing and performing their commercials.  We will vote as a class for the most convincing commercial.

Our grammar lessons will tie into our social studies unit using our verbs in the past, present and future. We will work on spelling patterns of long u  (-u_e, and -ue) and will have a spelling check on Friday.

READING:
Media literacy has ended.  I hope your child(ren) have noticed just how much media is around them and how quickly and effectively it influences them.  We will start our unit on sensory language and poetry this week.  Our class will learn how to create vibrant and colorful images in their mind as we read through examples of foods and colors and seeing a scenario through another persons eyes.  Through this whole unit, we will create individual charts for our sensory words that will help us in our writing.

MATH:
Fractions have ended and we are venturing back into the addition world.  We will introduce regrouping (carrying the one) this week through visuals, games, verbal/written/illustrated explanations and creating their own pocket book of regrouping (what it is, why we do it and how do we do it).  There will be an addition slogan all week of "If you have 10 or more, go next door."

SOCIAL STUDIES:
Past, present, and future will come to an end this week.  By reviewing the life of Martin Luther King, Jr, holidays in the year, birthdays in our class and more, we will be able to put times of day in order, days and months in order and daily activities in order.  We will review on Thursday and assess on Friday.

REMINDERS:
Jan. 31 - Science Fair
Feb. 6 - Early Release Day
Life Journals due Friday
Library- Thursday

January 22-25

Writing:
This week we will continue to work on persuasive writing.  Our goal will be to persuade our parents to get a new pet.  We will also include letter writing skills to turn our opinions, reasons and examples into a persuasive letter.  We will work on spelling patterns -ough and -ow and will have a spelling check on Friday.

Reading:
Media literacy will continue this week also.  We will watch clips of movies, commercials, and books to learn how media persuades their audience.  We will even email a company to ask questions about their product and how they use media in their advertising strategies. Guided reading groups will continue as well.

Math:
Fraction fruit salad, games, a review and assessment are on our plate this week.  We will review how to compare fractional parts, identify various fractions, and write fractions this week.  On Friday we will have a fraction assessment to check for understanding.

Social Studies:
Past, present, and future are going to be our focus this week.  We will be working on timelines and chronological order of events including our very own lives.  On Tuesday your child will bring home a homework assignment about milestones in their life.  It will be due on Thursday and we will create timelines of our own lives.  We will compare events and things in the past and present.

Reminders:
No School- Monday, Jan. 21st (MLK Jr. Day)
Life Journals due Friday
Library- Thursday

January 14-18

WRITING:
Our resolutions are complete and we have our plan to meet each goal for 2013! We will be craving some sweets in our writing this week with our persuasive Oreo writing.  Our goal is to take a stand on whether cookies are the best snack or not.  We will discuss and come up with all the pros and cons and argue our side to persuade others of our point of view.  This should be a tasty assignment!

SPELLING:
We will give the pretest on Monday and assess on Friday. Your child will get their list of words on Monday so they can practice at home during the week. 

READING:
Our author's purpose pie unit is finished and we are moving on to the study of media. Students will focus on different aspects of media this week (sound, purpose, color, image). We will explore different media in magazines, newspapers, movie trailers, commercials and more!  Our guided reading groups will continue this week as well.

MATH: 
We continue our study of fractions this week! We will work on identifying fractions of a set and fractions of a whole through tortillas, pizza slices, caterpillar creations, bingo boards and dominoes.  The class will have so much fun that there's a good chance they will forget that they are even learning something new!

We will continue this unit for one more week.

SCIENCE:
Our unit on natural and manmade resources finishes this week. We will discuss how we can conserve different natural resources (water, soil, rocks, air, and plants) and make a conservation media poster. We will review over natural and manmade resources on Thursday and assess on Friday.

REMINDERS:
Library day is Thursday
Jan. 21 - no school - MLK observed

January 7th through 11th

hApPy NeW yEaR!

I hope all of you had a wonderful winter break.  I'm excited to see everyone on Monday and hear all about it! 

Writing:
This week we will work on writing our new goals and resolutions for 2013.  We will organize our writing into paragraphs and make sure it's sequenced correctly.  Our writer's workshop will also continue with writing about topics that are close to our heart.  We will review the steps of the writing process during writer's workshop also.  Life Journals will continue this week and we will share them on Friday as usual.

Spelling:
We will work on phonics skills throughout the week and will check for understanding on Friday.  Your child will get their list of words on Monday so they can practice at home during the week.  

Reading:
We will focus on the author's purpose of writing.  We will have to decide if the author's purpose is to persuade, inform, or entertain.  We will use a variety of books including fiction and nonfiction selections to practice this skill.  Our guided reading groups will continue this week as well.

Math: 
We start fractions this week.  We will work on identifying fractional pieces, equal and non-equal parts, and parts of a whole.  We have some fraction books and games to play about fractions.  You can practice fractions at home by cooking together or drawing them. We will continue this unit for the next few weeks.

Science:
We will start our unit on natural and manmade resources.  We'll discuss how water, soil, rocks, air, and plants are natural resources and why they are useful to us.  We will compare natural resources to manmade resources and talk about their differences.  

Reminders:
Life Journals are due on Friday
Library day is Thursday
Please review and sign your child's behavior calendar each day
Please help your child to record their reading minutes each day 
Please say your good-byes at the door and let your child unpack independently!
School resumes January 7th