Newsletter Week of February 12th

Good morning parents,

It was a busy week of character studies and wrapping up opinion writing! Students also participated in the global school play day. It was great to reflect afterward on all the things students learned from this afternoon of play. Many of our SLRs were included as students were communicating effectively and collaborating constructively. Here is a great article that speaks more about the importance of free play.

Coming up in a few weeks is Student Led Conferences. These are scheduled on Wednesday, March 7 and Thursday, March 8 and may take up to an hour. Your child will be the most important part of this conference, so they are required to attend. Please let me know by Wednesday in an email which day and what time of day would work best if you have a preference. 

Our week starts on day 5. Please note there is NO SCHOOL THURSDAY OR FRIDAY due to Chinese New Year.

Reading

We have begun our new unit on Character Studies. For more information and ways to help at home please visit our Parent Learning Connection Site.

Students will learn that readers grow inferences about their characters based on the character’s actions and words. Readers also notice patterns in their characters behavior, shifting and growing bigger theories about their characters as they continue to read. A reader’s initial theories about a character are usually the tip of much deeper thinking. Readers ask why the characters are the way they are.

Writing

We are wrapping up our opinion unit. Students will work on using the writing checklist to make their writing the best it can be, focusing on using grade level conventions, and saying more about each reason.

Math

We are finishing up our unit on Multiplication and Area. Students will continue to solve multi-step word problems and show their thinking on multiplication by building various area models.

Social Studies

Students will learn about the social organization of ancient civilizations. This includes government, leaders, and laws.

HOME LEARNING:

Math: 

• Make a multi-step word problem, one that involves multiplication and division. 
• Write down 2 multiplication/division fact families that you know and 2 that you want to practice. 3x4=12, 4x3=12, 12/3=4, 12/4=3

Language Arts: 

• Do you think the character in the book you are reading (home or school) would make a good friend? Write down 3 reasons on why or why not. 
• Choose a character in a book you are reading. Write down 2 observations about what the character says or their actions. What idea or trait can you give that character?

Social Studies: 

• Look at a map or globe. Pick a location where you would build a civilization. List 3 reasons why you would choose that location. 

Other: 

• Do one kind act that will help to make someone's day better. Do it without the person knowing it was you.