Welcome to a new busy week...

Language Arts:  Much of our time over the next two months will be spent reading short passages, working on different strategies in answering questions related to the text.  Some of the beginning lessons, for example, will focus on root words, compound words, prefixes and suffixes, etc.  The lessons will move into drawing inferences, cause and effect, author's purpose, etc.  I will walk the students through some of these lessons in class, grading the work.  But, some of these lessons will be completed at home-thanks for your help.

We will also be reading in our AR books,  Map Essential Books and doing some of our language arts through our Time Magazine literature.

Homework:  As always, your child should be reading at least 30 minutes each night.  What AR book are they reading?  In addition, on Monday and Wednesday evenings, your child will be completing one of these above mentioned lessons-you will see the "Measuring Up Express" ISAT Book I mentioned above.  For this week- Monday your child will complete lesson 3, reading the focus page, then the passage, then answering the questions on page s 13 and 14.  They will complete lesson 5 for homework on Wednesday.  Hopefully this will become routine and we will get a rhythm down in completing these lessons.  I think they will be very helpful in preparing for the ISAT but also these lessons follow the third grade curriculum similar to our Open Court Series-so it is all good  reading practice.  Homework will also include cursive worksheets-your child will have them today and they are due on Friday.

Math:  We will be completing lessons 5.6-5.9 (5.6 was only partially completed-homework for tonight will be a fact practice sheet).

Again, homework will be a fact sheet tonight, lessons 5.7-5.9 Tuesday through Thursday.  In addition, your child will also be bring home an ISAT coach lesson book for some extra math practice.  We are working on completing the practice test and grading it-hopefully we will complete this today.  Please look how your child did.  (pages 231-251 when you get the book).  Each day we will try and complete one lesson in class and I will be giving an extra lesson for completion at home Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Look for these this week-your child will know what lesson to complete.

Both these extra reading and math books need to be returned each day-we will be working in them every day-thanks.

Social Studies:  Our work will be reading and responding to stories in our Time Magazine-look for these on Friday.

Science:   Our new FOSS Unit is Earth Materials.  We will begin this tomorrow-look for parent letter tomorrow to help introduce you/your child to this unit.

Art:  Our lesson last week turned out really great-I have laminated their work-look for it outside our room.  Their Echo Masks will be going home this week.  Our lesson this week is titled "Design A Monogram".  Looks like fun!

Again, thanks in advance for the extra help in preparing your child for the ISAT's.  Your children have told me that they are finding the extra work that we are doing in the classroom to be helpful.

We could use some extra snacks.  Thanks.

Also, please make sure your child has some kind of red pencil, pen, marker, etc. to use when grading their work-we do this every day.  Your child should also have several pencils in their desk-please ask your child if they do.  Thanks.