Dear Families,
I have loved getting the chance to speak with you all this week. It’s great to partner
with such amazing families!
A name questionnaire came home with your students today. Please work together to
fill it out and return it by Tuesday, November 17. If you would like an electronic copy, it
is attached. Thank you for your help!
Here’s what we will be learning next week:
Reading:
This week we will be doing an author study on the great Ezra Jack Keats. We watched a
BrainPop Jr video clip and learned about Ezra Jack Keats and how he began his
career. A few of the stories that we will read are A Letter to Amy, Jennie’s Hat, and
Snowy Day. With these stories we will focus on using illustrations and details to describe
the characters and events in the story. We will also be retelling the stories by
determining the important events in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Learning how to determine the important events from the other details will help us learn
to summarize!
Writing:
For the first three weeks of Marking Period 2, we will be focusing on the way that we
play in the classroom, at school, and at home as we write informational texts based on
personal experiences. Play is an important part of culture and we are using our writing
topics as a springboard for studying culture later in Marking Period 2. This week we will
write about how we play at home. We will discuss the different types of play that we do
at home and compare it to the play cultures of our peers. Students are expected to
write facts, a topic sentence and a closing sentence as well as correct
uppercase/lowercase letter usage and punctuation.
Math:
This week we will use what we have learned about composing (adding) and
decomposing (subtracting) to solve word/story problems. We will also be solving for the
missing number in story problems. For example: Mary has 5 cupcakes. She gets some
more from her sister. Now, Mary has 8 cupcakes. How many did her sister give her?
In order to answer these questions we will use the strategies that we have put in place
for addition and subtraction. Students can use manipulatives, drawings, or another
strategy that they may find helpful. Here is an example:
Decomposing 8 to solve for the unknown:
I see that there are 3 left,
so the unknown is 3!
known
unknown
Science/Social Studies:
In science we will continue to studying how objects move. Some objects move back
and forth, some in circles, and some side to side. We will explore with various objects to
see their movement patterns and how outside forces impact this movement. In social
studies we will continue to talk about culture and the similarities and differences of the
way people celebrate their cultures in their families and they community. Please start
having these conversations with your child so they are able to speak about the culture
of their families!
How can you help at home?
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Use the information in this email to ask your child questions about the books that
we read and the topics that we study.
Read with your child nightly!
Ask your child to recall important events in books when you are reading
together.
Practice story problems with a missing number- we call these “some” problems.
Practice writing and spelling Word Wall Words and Words Their Way word
patterns with your child.
Do the homework with your child. The homework is aligned with the Common
Core and helps reinforce skills that will be reviewed and built on throughout the
year.
Important Reminders and Information:
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November 14th is Family Fun Night! Come out for an amazing time with the family!
New Words Their Way sorts will be coming home on Monday. If you do not see it
in your child’s folder please let us know so we can get it to you.
We have begun our canned food drive! Please send in cans of food to help out
during our drive Most of this food will be going directly to our Stonegate
families. Items especially needed: canned fruits and vegetables, cranberry
sauce, corn muffin mix, sauces, pasta, cereal, boxed stuffing, gravy, boxed
mashed potatoes and rice, salad dressings and canned or boxed broth.
Nov. 25th- Early Release
No School Nov. 26th & 27th
Take photos and make memories! The Yearbook needs your help to capture
photos of Stonegate students this year. Follow this link to sign-up to take pictures
at events that interest you:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4babad2fa13-stonegate/
Our November social-emotional theme is friendship. The kindergarten through
second grade book is Crazy Hair Day by Barney Saltzberg. Each Kindness by
Jacqueline Woodson is our third-fifth grade book. Parents are encouraged to
check out the Book of the Month from the local library to read and discuss it at
home.
When your child is absent, please call the office after 8:30 a.m. letting the school
know the reason for the absence. You can also send an email to the office staff
at: [email protected]; [email protected]
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Please remind your child to have a book in his/her backpack to read in the
morning.
Interested in an additional half-day learning experience for your child? George
B. Thomas, Sr. Learning Academy has started! Here is the link to register:
http://www.saturdayschool.org/programs/enroll.shtm
This quarter we are learning about the skills of Fluency and Intellectual Risk Taking. These
skills are described below:
I think fluently.
 I come up with lots of new ideas.
 I express the ideas or thoughts in my head by writing, drawing, talking, or acting.
 I show the same thing in many different ways.
 I know many ways to answer a question.
 I ask a question in many different ways.
I take intellectual risks.
 I ask questions to help me understand—every day.
 I share what I am thinking in my group.
 I share my ideas and answer questions, even when I am unsure.
 I challenge myself to rise to the next level.
Have a wonderful and safe weekend!