Weekly Update

Dear Families,

The NECAP assessments were completed earlier this week and the students did an amazing job throughout this entire testing process! Although they were tested in reading and mathematics for three days, they really seemed to enjoy it. Some students even said it was “fun” and that they were excited about “applying their new skills and knowledge”!! In between assessments, the students enjoyed some extra outdoor play-time and plenty of special treats and snacks. Thank you all for sending in such delicious (and nutritious) snacks! We continued working on our Native American theme and our focus has now shifted to the Northwest region and the tribes that lived there. We built individual totem poles, which will accompany us at the Native American Assembly later this month. We also continued to study various aspects of their culture with emphasis upon houses, food, transportation and clothing. Ask your child to tell you about the Northwest Indians’ canoes and how they hunted whales in the open seas. Also ask your child what their favorite food was and why they did not farm.

Next week, the students will apply their knowledge of the Native American Indians and start their preparation for the paragraph writing piece of the unit. We will explore the various elements of a paragraph together as a class. The students will learn what a topic sentence is and how to create an effective one. They will learn what supporting details are and how they can be found in texts as evidence. They will also learn what a conclusion is and how an effective conclusion “wraps everything up” like a bow. We will write together using the knowledge we already gathered on the Eastern Woodlands before the students write their own on the Northwest Indians independently.

Our Native American Assembly is scheduled for October 28th at 6pm. The students will perform a brief play and the roles will be assigned next week. Your child might come home with some lines to practice at home. Please help your child read these lines repeatedly so he/she will feel comfortable on stage.

Our Native American assignment is due on the 26th as well. If you need any help or assistance in completing this assignment, please do not hesitate to contact me. Your child’s choice of artifact will represent his/her understanding of how the environment of the northwest region influenced their culture and way of life. Your child can do this in many ways and we started listing possible projects to do to show this understanding. If you need additional assistance, please let me know.

To encourage the students to see the connections between reading and writing, we will shift our focus from fictional stories to non-fictional texts and magazines starting next week. The students will be encouraged to choose various non-fiction texts as we investigate this different form of writing and how that affects our reading comprehension and strategies.

News and Reminders:
• The weather is getting colder outside so do not forget to send your child to school with warm clothing.
• Please do not forget to send your child to school with a healthy snack.
• We do not have school next week on Thursday and Friday, October 22nd and October 23rd, respectively.

Ask your child about:
• Fast Math
• Type to learn
• Saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the school
• The Exquisite Corpse, an on-line book collaboration between many well-known children’s book authors. This on-going book has been linked on the blog for those interested in participating in this new form of reading.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Regards,

Maria McCormack