It is time to begin a new quarter, and I can’t wait to start some new and wonderful
units! I hope you have had a delightful break full of exploration and
fun! Here is a look at our upcoming
week.
Literature: We begin this quarter by reading
various short stories. We will read these short stories not only to
expose the children to famous literature and uncover valuable morals, but we
will also be practicing important reading comprehension skills. This week
we will be revisiting the skill of reading fluently and with expression.
We will practice pausing for commas and periods as well as changing the
inflection in our voices for different punctuation marks and characters.
This week’s short stories will be “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” “The
Tongue-Cut Sparrow,” and “The Magic Paintbrush.” This last story is based
in China, which is our next country to study in history.
Grammar/Riggs: We will not be introducing new
Riggs words this week because of the half days, and grammar will be a review of
various skills. You will see this variety in the students’ homework.
History: We are going to travel to ancient China
this week. We will begin with an
overview of geography and important landmarks. Students will locate and
learn about the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the Grand Canal, and the Gobi
Desert. We will discuss the importance of the rivers in the development
of China. At the end of the week, we will be looking at the city of
Beijing. If you have anything from China that you would like to bring in
or if you would like to speak to the students about China, please let me know.
Science: Our focus this quarter will be on
insects. Students will learn very quickly that I love insects and enjoy
catching, observing, and studying them. My daughters and I have started
our own collection of insects and found a wonderful red velvet ant over the
break. During this unit, students may bring
in dead (or living) insects that they catch to share. This week we will be studying what makes
insects different from other animals. We
will study various insects in collections to figure out the external anatomy
and common characteristics that all insects share. Each student will be
required to complete a project during the first week of January (project
week). This year students will be
assigned an insect to research. We will be guiding students through this
process by providing a detailed guide and assigning chunks of the research and
writing through the course of the quarter, often as homework. Projects
will still be due in January, but the bulk of the research will completed
before winter break.
Important Notes:
-Keep sending in box tops!
-We have half days all week this week with release
times at 12:15 and 12:30. We will not
have a lunch time, but we will have a longer time for a larger snack.
-As
we head into a new quarter, please make sure you are jumping back into the
routine of listening to your child read and signing his/her agenda each night
to show that he or she read. If your
child does not read, please do not sign the agenda.
Warmly,
Ms.
Norris
