Dear Fabulous Families,
Since coming back from winter break, our class has been hard at work on a variety of projects and areas of study. Students have made great gains in keeping track of their weekly reading log and turning them in each Monday (or Tuesday next week). Thank you for your help in making sure that reading each day at home becomes a habit.
Here’s a brief update of what we’ve been working on lately. Please see attachments for more details.
Reading:
I started a new read aloud titled The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. The class seems to really enjoy the story.
In addition, we have been enjoying independent reading time and taking notes on the literary elements such as character traits and feelings, theme, problem, solution and important events.
Writing
After receiving a letter from Mrs. Hanes asking us to examine the issue of whether or not our school should continue serving chocolate milk in the cafeteria, our class has been busy examining this debate. As part of this unit, we have also introduced the format of an argument essay, which I have attached for your reference. Students already flash-drafted (a quickly written version of their argument) and will continue to research and develop their arguments in the coming weeks.
Social Studies
With the Age of Exploration in the rear-view, we plunged into the beginnings of the American colonies. Students learned why England was a late participant (compared to Spain and Portugal) in exploring and colonizing the New World. Some reasons included problems at home, including the Enclosure Movement and discussed other motivations that led some British citizens to leave and colonize America. Coming up, the early settlements of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth. Good stuff!
P.E.
We have been doing stations with a variety of exercises and stretches. This will continue for the next two weeks.
Jump for the Heart
The elementary school will be participating in the Jump for the Heart beginning on February 6th, more information to come.
Overnight Field Trip
In conjunction with our upcoming unit on the geology of the Pacific Northwest, we will be headed to the Scablands of Central Washington from May 14th until May 16th for a two-night overnight field trip! We’ll be staying at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park in Coulee City, Washington. We’ll sleep in either tents or cabins. We will share a lot more information in March about this trip, but for those of you that would like to chaperone, we wanted to tell you the dates now so you can plan accordingly with your work schedules.
Boxtops
Please send in BOXTOPS packages of groceries at home. Each month, classes compete to see which room can bring in the most boxtops. Thank you!
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. We can always use more volunteers in the room, if you are able.
To remind students why we have a long weekend, we will be watching this video and discussed the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Check it out: Flocabulary- MLK
Have a great day!
Becky
