Hello Bat Families,
I am so happy to be your child's teacher this year. We've had a wonderful week and I know we will have a great year.
Hopefully, this is the best email for me to use to send you information. Let me know if you want an additional email added or if you want one deleted or changed. I try to communicate with you at least weekly and want to be sure that you are receiving the information.
Read about our week:
Reading-In reading workshop, we discussed making reading resolutions and the importance of reading lots of just right books everyday to be the best readers we can be. We thought about ways we can make our reading lives rich and wonderful such as choosing books that interest us, finishing books, carrying books with us to grab extra time to read, and trying to get lost in our books so that we want to keep reading and reading. We have a reading log in our purple homework folder that should have reading recorded in school and at home. Thank you for encouraging your child to read and love reading. We will continue to set up the reading workshop and will begin individual reading assessments next week.
Writing-We are beginning to work on personal narratives and started some drafts today about a small moment with a special person. We used a kernal story graphic organizer to plan our story. Kernal Stories include boxes with notes about the setting (where and when the story took place), the first thing that happened, what happened next, what happened last, and a reflection (what I learned about this, what I realized, or what I will always remember.) We began drafting these stories and adding details (feelings, dialogue, sensory words, descriptions, etc.). We will draft several small moment stories than choose one to take to publication.
Grammar-We worked on nouns and verbs. We talked about they're, there, their and usage. We did some free writing and practiced proving and using they're. (they are) We will continue to work on parts of speech and complete simple sentences as well as tricky homophones. Spelling work will start after Labor Day.
Social Studies- We are learning a little about Texas and reading some maps. We will begin learning about the four main regions of Texas and the characteristics of each. Be sure to send in a photo of your child somewhere in Texas. These photos are due on Wednesday. We will use these photos to find different locations in Texas and will be taking a virtual bus ride throughout Texas to explore the regions.
Dates to Remember:
Friday, August 28, 2015-Wear Favorite College shirts
Monday, August 31, 2015-Wear FCE or green/purple for Spirit Day, Decorated Writer's Notebook due
Wednesday, September 2, 2015-Texas Photo due
Thursday, September 3, 2015-Open House at FCE 6:00 pm in classroom
for fourth grade information, 6:30 in cafeteria for school wide information
Friday, September 4, 2015-Wear Favorite College shirt
Monday, September 7, 2015-No school
Friday, September 11, 2015-Grandparent's Day Lunch
Wednesday, September 23, 2015-Early Release Day 12:45 pm
Have a wonderful evening! Be sure to let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to seeing you at our Open House on Thursday. Thank you for sharing your child with me.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
