Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are back and moving full steam ahead. As we enter into the last two weeks before ISAT testing I'd just like to say how proud I am of our children. They have worked hard and have shown improvement in all areas, particulary writing. I have you to thank for your support. The family symbols done over the holiday were so moving to me as well as Julian's mom, Ms. PonceDeLeon, who saw many of them when she brought something to Julian this morning, we both got teary eyed. For me this is what a large part of teaching is about. The reality in today's world is testing and we work to ensure our children do their best. The other side of this is to have children share who they are with others in words, language and action. Thank you again.

I have purchased <em><strong>"Scraps of Time, Abbey Takes a Stand, 1960</strong></em>, for the class. The cost of the book is $5.00. Please send in the money as soon as possible. My former students love this book that shares the experience of a grandmother's childhood in the south during the sixties. I have started reading some of the book and the children can't wait to get their own copy.

I will continue to send home the ISAT Practice books for homework. We go over the homework and discuss our thinking or strategies to become better test takers. I don't want the children to become stressed about the test, so please encourage them to just do their best.

This week we will be working on the following:

LANGUAGE ARTS:

We will take a comprehension test on "The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring." We will again be reading from our books, <strong><em>"Scraps of Time."</em></strong> This book lends itself to many reading experiences some of which include practicing the strategy of predicting, questioning, making inferences, visualizing and clarifying our thoughts after reading the material. This book also provides a great historical perspective of a time when African-Americans struggled to gain their civil rights especially in the south. We will have a culminating experience upon completion of the book. I do want you to be a part of our experience.

I will be sending a copy of your child's AR report home this week. This report shows you what your child is reading independently.

WORD WORK:

We will learn how to spell fifteen more frequently misspelled words. We will have a test on these words next week. I don't have my book as of this writing. I will list the words of this blog today.

We are also building our "WOW" word list. This list is made up of words we find in our reading we think are exciting. The key is to encourage the children to use interesting and descriptive words in their writing.

WRITING:

We will continue to hone our writing skills particulary as it relates to expository writing; writing that explains or describes something. I have been very pleased with the growth of the children's writing. The key is for them to state their topic in the first paragraph by telling the reader what they will talk about throughtout their paper, (focus); to then add details that explain or tell more about their topic, (support). Writing is enhanced by giving your reader more information about your topic using personal experiences, sharing your thoughts or opinions, providing examples to support what you are talking about and by using clear, descriptive language that engages your reader. The writer's "voice" should be heard throughout their writing. In other words, the children should take ownership of their writing. Obviously writing legibly, and using proper conventions such as punctuation and spelling are important, however I don't want the children to sacrifice the content and organization of their writing to spell every single word correctly. This is done during the editing and revision process.

MATH:

We will continue to practice multiplication. We will learn the lattice method, a short cut to multiplying two numbers together. For the sake of ISAT testing, we will also work in Unit Six in Everyday Math. This unit focus' on geometry.

Please continue to practice the multiplication tables with your child.

HOMEWORK:

ISAT Practice,  Home Links 5.5, 5.6, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, Math Boxes as assigned.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

We will continue to learn where the southern states are located on our map. This means knowing the name of the state and the correct spelling as well. We will read <strong>"Time For Kids"</strong> and complete a handout the accompanies the article. We will also continue working in Map Essentials.

The book <em><strong>Scraps of Time</strong></em> will also be used as a part of our social studies curriculum this month.

SCIENCE:

We will be working with Senor Walter in our study of earth materials.

<em><strong>Have       a        wonderful      day      and       Week!</strong></em>