With the new year, there are a few changes that I'd like you to be aware of in 1-Bu. Word wall homework will now be located in your child's binder. The entire week's worth of homework will be placed in your child's binder on Monday, and will be collected on Friday. Also, the paper heading at the tops of students' papers has changed. Your child must now write his/her first name, last name, and date. (He/she no longer must write his/her number.) Please help support this at home when your child is completing homework assignments.
Reading homework is starting! Each Monday - Thursday night, your child will come home with a self-selected book to read. He/she must read this book and record it in his/her reading log. Please look in your child's home folder for a more detailed note describing my expectations.
Finally, there will be more opportunities for you to volunteer in our classroom. Now that I'm comfortable that the students are absolutely certain of my expectations, I can try more complicated activities and student groupings... but I'll need your help to do this! Most of the opportunities will be on Friday afternoons between 1:15-2:00, during math. A sign-up sheet will be coming home sometime this week.
Reading : We're starting a new unit in reading this week! During this unit, the students will learn how to effectively use their schemas (or what they already know) to make connections, in order to deepen their comprehension of texts. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't worry. I'll make sure to describe what we're doing each week, as we go along, on this website.)
This week, we'll be talking about the difference between 'real' reading and 'fake' reading. 'Fake' reading is when you read something, but have no idea what you've read. (This happens to me quite often when I pick up one of my friend's law school textbooks. I can read all the words, for the most part, but I have no idea what I've just read when I'm done.) 'Real' reading is when you read the words AND think about what you're reading, such that you understand what it means.
Writing : Before winter break, we took a little bit of time to publish our small moment pieces from the past writing unit. Therefore, our how-to unit got a little off track. This week we'll get right back on track by adding in sequencing words, quantities of items needed, and making sure that we're not missing any important steps. If you find any how-to writing at home (like kid-friendly recipes or directions for a game), encourage your child to bring it in to share!
Math : This week we're going to continue our focus on measurement, paying particular attention to the measurement of time. We'll start off by discussing time to the quarter hour. (Please don't expect your child to master this concept. I do not expect any of the students to master the concept, it is simply an introduction.) Then, we'll move on to discussing time lines and end the week by making number scrolls.
Science : We'll embark on a short unit on weather this week. I'm sure that the students already know quite a lot about snow!
Extras : I sent each student a thank you card over break. If your child did not receive one, please let me know. I don't want anyone to feel left out because of an address mix-up.