I love this time of year! The excitement, the traditions, the sound of little ones singing Christmas carols in music filling the halls. Of course, there is also a huge amount of stress and scheduling overload, as well.
Thanks to all of the parents and grandparents who helped make our Legacy Fair a success. I know that this project is one that took some assistance on your parts, but I think it is such a worthwhile one I keep doing it each year. I am hopeful that you and your child had a good time discussing what makes your family unique and special.
There are a few things going on during this month you will want to be aware of. First, is that our class is working hard with Mrs. Mel putting together a few scenes from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. As soon as I get the date and time of the school performance, I will let you know. You won't want to miss it. Our class has some amazing actors and actresses in it! Also, the last day of school before Christmas Vacation is December 16th. Please enjoy your holiday and have safe travels and many wonderful memories.
Math: We have finished our basic Geometry unit and will spend the next three weeks working on area, perimeter, volume, and surface area. Your child will need to design a "gingerbread" house to bring in on the 16th. Please don't feel the need to make a homemade one. In fact, cardboard ones work wonderfully! We will be decorating these on the 16th. After the decorating has had a chance to set, we will be finding the area, perimeter, and volume of the houses. I will be asking that each child bring in frosting and something to decorate with (cereal works great and is relatively inexpensive). We'll share everything that is brought in. It's such a fun day. I will also welcome any and all volunteers that are willing to come in and help supervising our decorating. I will send home a flyer as it gets closer with the time.
Reading: Many of our groups are finishing up their novels. I hesitate to begin a new novel that will be not be finished before the holiday break, so we will be working on some non-fiction as well as short stories in the Harcourt set. Please encourage your child to read over the holidays!
Spelling: This week's list is a Christmas themed list. There are many longer words on it, but they should be fairly easy for the students to break apart by this point in the year as they use spelling rules we've already covered. Next week's list is one that focuses on the "I before E, except after C" rule. There will be no spelling list the week before Christmas. The annual spelling bee is approaching. Please let me know if your child is interested in participating! I will get a list of the words and rules to the parents who respond.
Social Studies: We are wrapping up our unit on the American Revolution, and will be working on understand how the federal government works next.
Science: The kids have been having a fun time with our Matter unit. We will be finishing this unit up during the next three weeks, as well. After the holiday we will begin our study of magnetism and electricity.
Writing: We have been doing a lot of writing! Not only have we been working on narrative writing (writing that tells a story), we have been doing a lot of poetry writing as well. Some of the poetry written by these students is absolutely amazing. We will continue to do at least one big poetry piece each month, in addition to the weekly poetry assignments they have. We are also beginning to focus on persuasive writing. Later this year, your child will be required to take a writing assessment that focuses on persuasive writing.
As the holiday season gets into full swing, I want to let you know how grateful I am to be a part of your students' lives. They are a remarkable batch of young people who continue to teach me. I also want to thank you for the kind thoughts and concern shown to me while my father was in the hospital, and then when I became so ill the following week. I appreciate it more than words can express. May your holidays be merry and bright!
Mrs. Bunker
No comments:
Post a Comment