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<span style="color: #339966">Important Days to Remember:</span>

<span style="color: #339966">Wednesday, October 14</span><sup><span style="color: #339966">th</span></sup><span style="color: #339966">:  Progress Reports</span>

<span style="color: #339966">Friday, October 23</span><sup><span style="color: #339966">rd</span></sup><span style="color: #339966">:  Staff Development Day:  <strong>NO SCHOOL</strong></span>

<span style="color: #339966">Dear Parents/Guardians,</span>
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<p style="text-align: justify"><span style="color: #339966">This week, you will receive progress reports.  Please keep in mind that these are NOT Report Cards.  I have marked down all grades I have received (except the Science Tests).  If your child was absent or did not turn in an assignment, that IS NOT reflected in the grades.  I will send a letter with the progress report stating what assignments are missing.  If it is an assessment, your child will make it up this week.  Remember that the first five weeks of school is all REVIEW.  Many of the grades reflect that.  Here is what we are learning this week:</span></p>
<p align="center">Instruction</p>

Literacy:

This week during our Reading Workshop, we will learn about distinguishing fiction and nonfiction texts as well as writing responses in our Reading Journals.  Included in your progress report, you will receive your child’s Guided Reading Levels for the beginning of the year.  This is NOT SET IN STONE.  Every time that we have a guided reading session, I am assessing students to see if their books match their needs.  Every assessment I send home is just ONE little piece of information to help guide my instruction.

We are also continuing to build stamina in the Daily 5.  So far students are working Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Working with Writing.  We are working on Word Work as a whole group until routines are established for students to work independently.  Our Word Study will focus on activities to improve spelling.  These activities are in lieu of spelling tests.  Students practice writing words that they have chosen and will learn more about high frequency words.

Students are continuing to improve as writers during Writer’s Workshop.  They are learning to generate more writing and focusing on making their “Watermelon” topics into “Seed” topics.  Please ask your children about this.

<span style="color: #ff0000">Mathematics:</span>

<span style="color: #ff0000">We are not working on Unit 2 in our Everyday Mathematics Curriculum.  This focuses on Addition/Subtraction Facts.  This week we will work on fact families and functions.</span>

<span style="color: #339966">Science:</span>

<span style="color: #339966">After assessing the students on their knowledge of Water Observations, I am going to continue to review our first investigation as we move on to the second one, Hot Water, Cold Water.  Students will observe properties of water as it is heated, cooled, and frozen.</span>

<span style="color: #3366ff">Social Studies:</span>

<span style="color: #3366ff">We will continue to work on Map Skill during Social Studies on Tuesday. </span>

Please email me at <a href="mailto:ssprasad-hei@cps.edu">ssprasad-hei@cps.edu</a> if you have any questions or concerns.