Room 219 Update - Week of December 5, 2016
Dear Families,
Thank you to the many of you that took time out of your days to attend our Movie Star Mystery last week; we hope you enjoyed the show as much as the students enjoyed performing it! Also, thank you for your generous donations of treats for our “party” afterwards!
Here is what we are working on in our classroom:
KidBiz: As a reminder, your child is now required to complete 1 KidBiz nonfiction article at home per week. Thank you to those of you that reminded and encouraged your children to do this last week! When your child completes the article, they should log it in their Reading Log as their nightly reading, and also record the score (percentage) earned on the first attempt. Thank you for your help with this new weekly assignment!
Reading: This week is a big week, as we will transition to our informational reading unit! Students will begin by learning strategies that help to “rev up their minds” before reading nonfiction. Some of these strategies include previewing text features to consider what the book will mostly be about, as well as to consider the main idea of a section of text. You can help your child with this tricky concept at home while working with them on their KidBiz articles. Ask your child, “What is the main idea of this article? What are some details that support this main idea?” Finally, as a heads up, students will be reading nonfiction books in the classroom; however, they should still read on-level fiction books from their book pouches for their nightly home reading.
Writing: Students will continue to revise and improve their information books this week! Learning how to write an introduction and conclusion will be the focus at the beginning of the week. Ask your child what he/she did to catch the audience’s attention in the introduction! Students will also have time to work with a writing partner to help clear up any confusion in their information books, as well as have the opportunity to start considering appropriate and helpful text features to add to their books.
Science: The beginning of this week will be spent wrapping up our body systems unit. We will then transition to our next science unit on magnetism and electricity. Students will begin by first investigating the types of materials that magnets stick to, as well as what happens when two or more magnets are brought together.
Upcoming Events:
12/12 – December Scholastic book orders due (**If you would like any part of your order to be a gift, send me an email to let me know and we can arrange a secret pickup!)
12/23-1/2 - Winter Break (No School)
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your dedication to your child’s education!
Sincerely,
Kaylee Viscuso