Happy American Education Week!

Many thanks to all of you who were able to join us for the unveiling of our first published book.  I think it is very well done, has a lot of good information and really informative illustrations.  I am proud to have it housed in our school library!

Since next week is a very short week, there will be NO FORMAL HOMEWORK!  Spelling words will be sent home the Monday after Thanksgiving and there will be a test of those words on Thursday.  In lieu of regular homework, would you please consider completing a Read to Succeed sheet?  I am sending the paper home today.  It askes your child to read for 6 non-homework related hours between now and the end of January.  All you need to do is log in the title of each book your child is reading, include the amount of time read and initial each line.  If you send this completed form back to me by the end of January, your child will receive a FREE pass to Six Flags/Great Escape in Lake George.

Reading:  I have finally completed my assessments of nonfiction retells!  Your children have become quite adept at scaffolding material read and retelling in an organized manner.  You also may have noticed an increase in your child's ability to read a nonfiction passage and answer questions in complete sentences using textual evidence.  This a direct response to Common Core requirements.  It is difficult but your children are very capable!
Math:  We have begun work on Place Value and the Base 10 system.  Your children will be composing and decomposing numbers in a concrete manner.  We will build to representational (picture) and symbolic(numerals).  The program that I introduced this week is called Xtra Math.  It is designed to challenge your child to develop rapid recall of facts.  It charts their progress and allows me to see who practices in another way.  I sent the info to you on Wednesday.  It is linked to the blog.
Writing:  We completed our unit on narrative writing.  Your children completed a 60 minute on demand writing task.  They had to choose a topic, plan it, and write using all our required elements.
I am very pleased with their results and the improved quality of their writing.
Social Studies:  We have begun our unit on communities.  We have talked about National symbols and important places to visit in the US.  We also have begun to talk about taxes and the history of Thanksgiving.
Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for all your help, support and interest!