Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope all is well and hope you are learning right along with us! I get excited everytime the children seem to get a concept, or demonstrate their abilities to think critically about topics or issues that are important to them. They really guide my teaching and sometimes I think there are not enough hours in the school day to really hear all their wonderful ideas!

This is Black History Month and I have sent the assignment home I hope you will enjoy doing with your child. If you didn't receive the assignment sheet, please jot me a note and I will send another. I have added to the project and will send the directions to complete the assignment Tuesday.

I have been reading a book entitled <em>"Scraps of Time, 1960, Abby Takes A Stand</em>" for the past five years. This realistic fiction book tells the story of Abby, a grandmother who is sharing her memories  of living in the segregrated south to her grandchildren. The historical backdrop of the circumstances that were a part of the civil rights movement lends itself to discussion of a time period the children have heard about . I have found the students love this book and enjoy having their own copy. I purchase the book at 57th Street Bookstore for $5.50. I am asking that you purchase the book to become a part of your child's personal library. I'd like to purchase the book by this weekend to have in class for our primary reading material . If you have any problems sending in the cost of the book, please let me know.

I will be sending home a copy of your child's accelerated reading record every two weeks. I am hoping this will encourage your child to read independently.

THIS WEEK WE WILL BE WORKING ON THE FOLLOWING:

Language Arts:

We will read <em>The Boy Who Did'nt Believe in Spring</em> in our OpenCourt readers. The focus will be on identifying main ideas and supporting details.  We weren't  able to get to the story last week, so we will begin reading this realistic fiction story this week.

I will begin reading the book I mentioned above, <em>Scraps of Time</em> this week. Hopefully everyone will have their own copy by next week.

We will have a spelling test on Wednesday of selected fifteen frequently misspelled words. Please refer to last week's blog to check for the list.

We will continue to take practice ISAT test. We review the lessons done for homework in class. The main goal is to analyze the questions to try to deteremine where we need practice.

HOMEWORK: Practice ISAT assessments, read for at least 30 or more minutes each night.

Writing:

The Black History assignment is due Wednesday, February 3, 2010. Hopefully you received the assignment and are enjoying working on it with your child. There are websites on my blog that should be helpful in helping you and your child find information about famous African-Americans. I will be sending home the directions for completing a diaorama on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. If you aren't clear on something, please let me know. The diaorama will be due next Monday.

We will continue to work on writing thougthful, complete compositions on various topics. Our focus is on expository writing, (writing that describes or explains), for ISAT. However we are writing everyday to gain practice in the writing process and to share our insight and thoughts with others.

Math:

We will be learning more about place-value in Unit Five. This week we will practice writing large numbers to the ten'thousands place.  This unit also includes decimal concepts.

Homework:

Home Link 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, Assigned Math Boxes, Practice ISAT

Science:

We will continue learn about earth materials . We will separate the mock rock materials to determine what the mock rock was made of,  minerals maybe, sand, gravel!

Social Studies:

We will begin to learn ten southern region states. We will also continue to work in Map Essentials.

<em><strong>HAVE                                      A                          GREAT                             WEEK!</strong></em>

K

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