September 3rd-6th, 2013

Hello parents! Hopefully you are having a relaxing and enjoyable holiday weekend! It seems the weather is finally cooling down, which is exciting for me. I love fall! Here is a quick curriculum update on our plans for this upcoming week:

Reading/Writing: This week our comprehension strategy is discussing an author's purpose for writing a particular story. Our main selection, "My Brother Martin" discusses the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. This ties in with our essential question for the week: How can an author show what it takes to be a leader? While writing this week we will be focusing on word choice.

Spelling: Our spelling pattern this week focuses on words with the short "e" sound as well as the long "e" sound. (Ex: eel vs. egg). You should have received your child's spelling test results this Friday in their Leopard Book. Here are this week's words:

1. west

2. steep

3. member

4. gleam

5. fresh

6. freedom

7. speed

8. steam

9. beast

10. believe

11. speck

12. kept

13. cheap

14. pretend

15. greed

16. shelf

17. least

18. eager

19. reason

20. chief

Challenge

1. release

2. restaurant
3. creature
4. echo

They will also receive a hard copy of the words tomorrow. Starting this week, students will only be tested on ten spelling words, however they are expected to study all twenty words, as they will not know which ten will be chosen for the test. There will be four challenge words every week, which are optional (and encouraged) to study but not required. Thank you for your continued support in helping your child prepare for these tests!

Math: We are continuing our work in geometry by discussing polygons. This week will focus on using compasses to draw circles as well as work with parallelograms. We have been having a blast in this unit by coming up with fun ways to remember geometry vocabulary. Last week we explored different shapes and their properties with straws and twist ties!

Science: This week we start our work in science! Our unit focuses on rocks and earth materials. The students are so excited!

Other news/announcements: Please check your child's Leopard book for a sheet on the classroom homework policy, as well as their September reading log. Many of you have experience with the reading logs, as students participated in 3rd grade. We ask for your support in making sure your child is reading at home every night and recording it. At the end of the month they are expected to add up their minutes, ask you to sign their sheet, and turn it in for credit and fun rewards! I have very high hopes for the class for homework completion and responsibility with the logs- they are doing so well already!!! If you have any questions about these items do not hesitate to contact me. 

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week everyone! :)

-Ms. Shapleigh