Saturday, September 22, 2018

September 24-28

Writing:
We are still working on our personal narratives this week. This week, it is all about adding more details to your stories. Students will practice stretching out action scenes, adding speech bubbles to pictures, adding dialogue to the written story, and showing how a character feels, not telling. Students will have writing time each day to practice these skills and time to share what they have been working on at the end.

Reading:
We are stepping away from fiction to focus on nonfiction texts and good citizenship. Students will read about what it means to be a good citizen and point out some good citizens in our community. They will also read short biographies and will be challenged to write down some important facts they learned. We will learn about some important historical figures, such as Paul Revere, Abigail Adams, and John Hancock. Toward the end of the week, we will go over a few important US symbols.

Homework this week will be to complete some good citizenship secret missions! A note will go home in your child's Tuesday folder with some options to complete their secret missions. Take a picture of your child completing one of the secret missions and email it to me. At the end of the week, we will share how we helped make our community a better place!

Math:
We are still focusing on place value this week. Last week, students really got the hang of building numbers using base-ten blocks. This week we are taking it a step further by comparing numbers using the greater than/ less than symbols and adding one, ten, or a hundred to any number. We will have a whole group lesson then students will split into math groups for more practice on these skills and previously learned skills.

Science:
Students have been loving our study of matter and its properties. This week we are still focusing on physical changes and how combining materials can make them do things they can't do on their own. Students will have the opportunity this week to build a tower out of spaghetti or pipe cleaners. They goal is to make a free standing, sturdy structure that support a cotton ball on top. It's going to be fun! Later in the week, we will look at magnetism and how we can use magnets in everyday life.

Question of the week: If blood is red, why do our veins look blue?
This is optional but your child can research the answer, write it down and bring it to school. I'll give them 2 Dojo points!

Reminders:
Library Day: Friday- send in books
Caraway 40th Anniversary Party: September 29th

Caraway's 2018 Bike Rodeo, which only happens every other year, is scheduled for Saturday, October 6th, from 10am-12pm at the Caraway's parking lot (flagpole / Carlwood Drive side). There will be a raffle for a FREE bike from Empire BMX, FREE helmets to the first 50 students, helmet fitting and bike tune-up stations, and a bike course set-up to learn how to ride safely.  Watch a BMX bike stunt show and grab some food from Rosarito's Taco truck. We need parent volunteers to make this event happen, so please sign up here: https://goo.gl/XQpracHope to see you there!

Friday, September 14, 2018

September 17-21

Writing:
We are starting a new unit this week on personal narratives. We will read Owl Moon to kick things off. Then we will brainstorm times in our lives where we felt strong emotions, such as joy, anger, fear, and sadness. We will pick one of those times to turn into a small moment story. Students will participate in planning their story, crafting a strong beginning, and work through the writing process.

Reading:
We are continuing to build good reading skills with lessons on character traits, making connections, and inferring. Students will continue to have to time to read to self and practice these skills on their own.

Math:
Place value is in place this week as we begin a new unit. Students will practice building numbers using base-ten blocks. Then they will be challenged with place value riddles. Then we will review comparing numbers using the greater than and less than symbols.

Science:
We are still learning about states of matter and physical changes. This week students will go through several challenges, including building a paper airplane, sanding materials, and melting candy to see how physical changes affect how a material looks and feels, but doesn't change the actual substance.

Reminders:
Here is the PE newsletter for September:
https://sites.google.com/roundrockisd.org/kathycarawaype/pe-news

Here is the sign up genius to volunteer to bring items to help with Academies.
Caraway Academy SignUp Genius

Upcoming Events:
Riata Roundup: September 20th
First Round of Academies: September 21st
40th Anniversary Party: September 29th

Friday, September 7, 2018

September 10-14

Writing:
We have been having so much fun launching writer's workshop and many students have finished or are close to finishing their story. This week we are focusing on fixing up our stories. Students will practice reading closely and fix the mistakes they find. They will also practice adding details to make their stories come to life. We will have a writing celebration on Friday to celebrate all our hard work!

Reading:
Our book of the week is Edward the Emu. We will focus on making predictions and adjusting them when we finish the book. Then we will read the sequel Edwina the Emu and make predictions for that book as well. Students will take that skill and apply it to their own reading during Read to Self and Read to a Buddy.

Math:
We are continuing to focus on putting numbers in sequential order and comparing them to other numbers. Students will look at the tens place and ones place to determine if a number is higher or lower. We will play a game in math stations called Spot the Numbers. We will also use a hundreds chart to solve some tricky puzzles. Then we will have an assessment on Friday to check everything we've learned.

Science:
Our study of matter will continue this week. Students will learn the properties of solids and liquids and practice classifying different materials using different physical properties. Later in the week, we will see how matter changes when heat is applied or taken away.

Reminders:
Sunday Funday with PTA: Sunday, September 9th from 3-5
Life Journals are going home this week: one diary-like entry that is due on Friday.