Reading : Last week the students learned about real reading vs. fake reading. Real reading is when you read the words in a text AND you think about what you're reading. Fake reading is when you just read the words to something, but pay no attention to what you're reading and have no idea what it's about.
This week, we're going to start learning about one way to do real reading, by using our schema. Schema is a fancy word for what you know about a given topic. For example, you have schema about snow. You know that snow is white, cold, people like to play in it, it can cause school to close, etc. Before reading a book, it's a good idea to activate your schema (or think about what you know) about the topic of the book, because it helps get your mind ready for the right kind of information.
Writing : We got off to a great start in our How To writing unit last week! The students have started to write their first how-to books. So far, we've created lists of things we're experts at, chosen one to write about, and then created a materials page. Ask your child what he/she has chosen to write about. This week, we'll start writing the steps and continue learning about the process of creating these kinds of writing pieces.
If you happen to come across examples of how-to writing at home, please send them in to school. It's great to be able to show examples of how-to texts from the real world. (Some examples we've had in the past are directions about how to put together lego sets, how to cook macaroni and cheese, how to make a bracelet, etc.)
Math : This week we'll be using the paper towel rolls that you sent in to create number scrolls. We'll all start at 0 and see how high we can write our numbers by the end of the year. We'll also start working on developing the students' fact power. Fact power is learning math facts (in this case, addition facts), such that they become automatic, or memorized. I don't expect the students to have all addition facts memorized at this point, but I would like them to slowly start developing automaticity with simple facts, like +0 fact, +1 facts, and doubles facts.
Social Studies : Our weather unit will be put on hold this week while we learn a little about Martin Luther King, Jr.
Odds and Ends : Please keep in mind that there is no school on Monday, January 16th.