Jan. 7-11

Welcome back!  I hope your two week break was filled with family, friends, fun, relaxation and most of all missing school so much you can't wait until tomorrow!  We are diving back in to our academics and getting back into our routine as quick as we can.

Writing:
We will discuss and create our resolutions for 2013.  We will organize our thoughts into paragraphs and make sure it's sequenced correctly.  Our writer's workshop will also continue with reviewing the steps of the writing process as we write about topics we are passionate about.  

Life Journals will continue this week and we will share them on Friday.  Remember, each entry should be a half a page of writing (without skipping lines) and have a picture/drawing/item from the event.

Spelling:
We will work on phonics skills throughout the week and assess on Friday.  Your child will get their list of words on Monday so they can practice at home during the week.  

Reading:
We will focus on PIE this week.  In holding discussions of author's purpose, we will have to decide if the purpose is to Persuade, Inform, or Entertain.  We will use a variety of books, both fiction and nonfiction selections, to practice this skill.  Our guided reading groups will continue this week as well.

Math: 
We start fractions this week!  We will work on identifying fractional pieces, equal and non-equal parts, and parts of a whole through fraction books and games.  

You can practice fractions at home by cooking together or drawing them. This unit will continue through next week.

Science:
Our unit on natural and manmade resources starts this week.  We will discuss how different resources (water, soil, rocks, air, and plants) are natural resources, why they are useful to us, how we use them and how we conserve them.  We will compare natural resources to manmade resources and talk about their differences.  This unit will carry over into next week.

Reminders:
Life Journals are due on Friday
Library day is Tuesday
Please review and sign your child's behavior calendar each day
Please help your child to record their reading minutes each day 
Jan. 7 - Spring semester starts
Jan. 21 - no school - MLK observed