Week 2 - September 4-7

Thanks for the great turn out at Thursday's Back to School Night. I hope you found this session helpful. I look forward to working with you and your children this year. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at momullane@shorecrest.org.

This week your child will be learning to spell another 10 words which relate to our phonics study. Please help your child learn these words, which will be tested on Friday. In addition to these spelling words, your child needs to learn the meanings of the 4 new vocabulary words, which will also be tested this Friday. These 4 words are not tested as spelling words, but meaning words.

At last Thursday's information session, you received the Current Events Calendar for the month of September. The students will be reporting on current events/news on a biweekly basis. Please help your child select an article in the local newspaper, magazine, or internet. The article needs to be related to current news and something you child found interesting. Once the article has been selected, your child should read it and then write a few sentences describing what they read, the source in which the article was found and the date it was published. They will bring in the article, along with their summary and read it to the class. The activity will help to improve the students' public speaking and note taking skills, as well as keep them in touch with what is happening in the real world. We are very excited to listen to and learn about the news that the students will bring in. Current Events will begin next Tuesday.

A reminder that Friday is Spirit Day and your child can wear their Spirit Wear to school on this day.

Picture Day will be held on September 11th, and you will be receiving more information about this later on in the week.

Thanks to you for helping your child collect Cash For Trash Items and Boxtops - which means $ for our school. Keep collecting and sending items in.

Here is our week at a glance:

Literacy
Phonics: short vowels e, o, u and inflections e and es
Spelling: helmet, puppet, rotten, subject, contest, suspect, talent, basket, dentist, bottom
Reading: Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk
Reader Workshop Mini-Lessons: Readers choose books to read by finding a book that is just right (not too hard, not too easy easy, just right); Readers help themselves stay focused by making plans for themselves; Readers help themselves stay focused by taking a quick stretch break; reread the part they missed and/or stopping to envision what's going on in the story
Vocabulary: reference (book), illustrator, impossible, wondered
Grammar: Statements and Questions
Writing Workshop: Procedures and Routines; Launching Small Moment Writing; Choosing a topic you know and care about
Handwriting: Warm-up routines

Every Friday, the students shop for new books to add to the collection of books they are reading in the classroom. We are beginning to talk about how to choose books, based on interest and their reading ability. Please check out the link below about how to support your child with choosing a Just Right Book, whether you are at your local library, home or book store.

http://www.brainpopjr.com/readingandwriting/readingskills/choosingabook/grownups.weml

Mathematics - Unit 1 (Review)
* Practice with addition facts and establishing partnership principles in math
* Grouping by tens and practicing exchanging $1, $10, $100 bills
* Introducing My Reference Book and the Math Box routine
* Working in small groups and reviewing number patterns and sequences

Social Studies
* The compass rose is a symbol that helps you read a map
* A globe is handy for finding places on Earth. A world map can show all of Earth, too
* North America

Science
* Using Scientific Method

Have a wonderful week -

Ms. O'Mullane