January 26, 2015

A note from Mrs. Tabor…

Tuesday, February 14^th is our Valentine’s Party.  Please have your child bring in 24 Valentine’s cards.  If you are able, please have your child address their Valentine cards in advance.  It makes delivering the cards that much more fun.  Look for the list of first names in their folder on Wednesday. Also, we will have a “Valentine Box Pageant”, so make sure that you’ve sent in a decorated shoebox for the party.  Students may also bring a special sweet treat (individual) and drink (no soda please) for the party. 

 Reminders

*Send in a healthy snack and water bottle every day!

*You may want to check on how much money your child has in their lunch account.

*Now that the weather is turning colder, please make sure your child comes to school with a coat, hat, and gloves.  There have been many days recently where students have come to school and not been prepared for outside recess.  Our recess is at 10:00 or 10:30am, and we will go outside unless it is below 32 degrees (with the wind chill factor). 

*Be sure to sign and return your students planner every day! Don’t forget to record their reading!

What are we learning?

 Reading Workshop

This week we are continuing our fifth ELA Unit, A Long Journey to Freedom.  We will learn how to determine what is important in our reading.  We will be reading stories about the Underground Railroad and the Civil War.  We will finish the week by each of us making a quilt square, like the ones people made to show the way to the Underground Railroad.  This has been a fascinating era to study!

Writing Workshop

In Writing, we will write new narratives.  Some students will be writing new personal narratives, while others will use the perspective of Henry from Henry’s Freedom Box for their narrative.

Word Study

This week’s word wall words are: 

Present, still, father, being, across

Long vowel group: long o, CVCe and CVVC patterns

r-influenced vowel patterns group:  ear, er, eer, and ear /ur/

suffix group: when to drop the e and add –ing

word endings: -le, -el

 Math

We will begin a unit on time.  Students will learn to tell time to the quarter hour, and learn the terms “half past”, “quarter after” and “quarter to”.

 Social Studies

We will learn about the Underground Railroad and the important generals in the Civil War.

Related Arts Schedule

Monday-Tuesday	Wednesday-Friday
Art	Music

January 20, 2015

A note from Mrs. Tabor…

I hope you all enjoyed the extra day off this weekend.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day, for many Americans, is known as a day to volunteer in our communities.  This is a great time to make a plan with your children to volunteer in our community.  This week, we will be continuing that discussion in our class.  

            This week, we will begin a new Language Arts unit called “A Long Journey to Freedom.”  Our unit begins with a discussion about slavery and the Underground Railroad.  Your children are going to read and hear stories about this period of American history.  Please be prepared to carry on this discussion at home as well.

 Reminders

*Send in a healthy snack and water bottle every day!

*You may want to check on how much money your child has in their lunch account.

*Now that the weather is turning colder, please make sure your child comes to school with a coat, hat, and gloves.  There have been many days recently where students have come to school and not been prepared for outside recess.  Our recess is at 10:00 or 10:30am, and we will go outside unless it is below 32 degrees (with the wind chill factor). 

*Be sure to sign and return your students planner every day! Don’t forget to record their reading!

What are we learning?

 Reading Workshop

This week we are beginning our fifth ELA Unit, A Long Journey to Freedom.  We will learn how to determine what is important in our reading.  We will be reading biographies of Harriet Tubman. 

Writing Workshop

In Writing, we will continue to work on a personal narrative story.  As a culminating activity, we will use our personal narrative to write our own tall tales.

Word Study

This week’s word wall words are: 

Seem, feel, eyes, above, woman

Long vowel group:  CVVC pattern

Other vowel group: 

r-influenced vowel patterns group: 

 Math

We will continue to discuss 3 digit numbers, exploring different ways to represent a given number, and comparing numbers.

 Social Studies

We will learn about slavery and the Underground Railroad.

Habit of the Week:  We will review the 7 habits and discuss what makes a good leader.

Related Arts Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday-Friday
No school	Technology	Art

January 12, 2015

A note from Mrs. Tabor…

We had a great first week (well, almost a full week)!   Parents, just a few things about the homework.  Your child is bringing home a Time For Kids on “Inventions.” Please save it, as it is needed for the homework.  Also, please check your child’s homework before they bring it back in to school.  I noticed several people hadn’t completed the work this week.  Next Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Therefore, there is no school that day.

 Reminders

*Send in a healthy snack and water bottle every day!

*You may want to check on how much money your child has in their lunch account.

*Now that the weather is turning colder, please make sure your child comes to school with a coat, hat, and gloves.  There have been many days recently where students have come to school and not been prepared for outside recess.  Our recess is at 10:00 or 10:30am, and we will go outside unless it is below 32 degrees (with the wind chill factor). 

*Be sure to sign and return your students planner every day! Don’t forget to record their reading!

What are we learning?

 Reading Workshop

This week we will continue our fourth ELA Unit, The Wild West.  We will continue to compare and contrast different versions of the same fairy tales.  We will read several versions of Rapunzel, The Gingerbread Man, Cinderella, and Goldilocks & The Three Bears this week.  Students will practice comparing and contrasting the stories using venn diagrams, a Y-diagram, and a top hat diagram to illustrate the stories similarities and differences. 

Writing Workshop

In Writing, we will continue to work on a personal narrative story.  This week we will work on writing our beginning, middle, and end.  We will focus on using dialogue and descriptive writing in our narratives. 

Word Study

This week’s word wall words are: 

Face, dog, food, happy, sat

Long vowel group:  silent e review and assessment

Other vowel group:  review for CVVC pattern and assessment

r-influenced vowel patterns group:  assessment

 Math

We will continue our next unit and begin exploring larger numbers.  We will use base 10 blocks to understand the value of the ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands digits.  We will also review how to trade/exchange base 10 blocks.  (For example, trading ten 10’s for a 100).  Students will create a place value tool, practice comparing and ordering numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least, and practice using greater than and less than.

 Social Studies

This week we will conclude our westward expansion unit in social studies.  We will learn about the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express, the Transcontinental Railroad, Death of the Iron Horse, and Casey Jones.    

Habit of the Week:  We will review the 7 habits and discuss what makes a good leader.

Related Arts Schedule

Monday	Tuesday-Friday
P.E.	Technology

January 5, 2015

A note from Mrs. Tabor…

Welcome back to school!  After a long break, I’m sure that we will need this week to dust off the cobwebs to remember what our routines are.  You may notice that the homework is not too difficult this week, just enough to remind ourselves that reading, writing and math are important to practice at home as well as at school.

 Reminders

*Send in a healthy snack and water bottle every day!

*You may want to check on how much money your child has in their lunch account.

*Now that the weather is turning colder, please make sure your child comes to school with a coat, hat, and gloves.  There have been many days recently where students have come to school and not been prepared for outside recess.  Our recess is at 10:00 or 10:30am, and we will go outside unless it is below 32 degrees (with the wind chill factor). 

*Be sure to sign and return your students planner every day! Don’t forget to record their reading!

What are we learning?

 Reading Workshop

This week we will continue our fourth ELA Unit, The Wild West.  We will be learning how to compare and contrast different versions of the same fairy tales.  We will read several versions of The Princess and the Pea, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and The Gingerbread Man this week.  Students will practice comparing and contrasting the stories using venn diagrams, a Y-diagram, and a top hat diagram to illustrate the stories similarities and differences. 

Writing Workshop

In Writing, we will begin working on a personal narrative story.  First we will brainstorm a list of small moments that we have experienced using feelings words.  (Small moments are real events that have happened in our lives). Then we will choose one and practice using our senses to describe the small moment.  Next we will plan out our story using a graphic organizer and then come up with a great lead for our stories. 

 Word Study

This week’s word wall words are: 

change, almost, room, able, become

Long vowel group:  final /k/ sound, -ck, -ke, or -k

Other vowel group:  review for CVVC pattern (ai, oa, ee, ea)

r-influenced vowel patterns group:  review of ar, schwa-plus-r, and or

 Math

We will begin our next unit and begin exploring larger numbers.  We will begin by discussing place value.  We will use base 10 blocks to understand the value of the ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands digits.  We will also learn how to trade/exchange base 10 blocks.  (For example, trading ten 10’s for a 100). 

 Social Studies

This week we will continue our westward expansion unit in social studies.  We will learn about steamboats and the Erie Canal, and why both were important to westward expansion.  We will also learn about Sequoyah (Father of the Cherokee Alphabet), the Trail of Tears, and the Oregon Trail.  

Habit of the Week:  We will review the 7 habits, beginning with put first things first.

Related Arts Schedule

Monday-Friday

P.E.