November 8, 2009
Dear Parents,
The Jog-A-Thon was a success. Thank you to so many of you who turned out to
cheer us on!
In math, we have begun Unit 2 on addition and subtraction of decimals. We
have started by reviewing place value with respect to decimal
units. This week we will cover Lessons 3-6. Your child's Unit A math test
was returned last week. Those test corrections are due this week.
In science, we continue to study Chapter 3 on The Human Body, and will be
reading the third lesson entitled "The Respiratory System" this week. Your
child will be coming home with small booklets they have made, which need to
be filled with vocabulary words and their meanings from each lesson. These
small booklets will be part of a larger project which we are constructing in
class. Your child can use the soft-covered science workbook for this
homework.
In social science, your child received the name of his/her explorer and the
description of the report, which is due on Tuesday, November 24th. We will
use two class periods this week to help your child with research. After this
week, your child will be expected to finish the report at home. Wednesday,
November 25th is the date when the students will be dressing like explorers
and asking Queen Isabella or Queen Elizabeth for help with their
exploration of the New World. Costumes can easily be made with items found
around the house. We have given the students many ideas on how to go about
doing this. Queen Elizabeth has her outfit all picked out, but I must say
that Queen Isabella is still "pulling" hers together!
In RTI, we are reading the third story entitled "The Fear Place" in the
anthology, focusing on the infer and predict strategy. The students are
developing reading comprehension strategies during the class period, which
will carry over into reading textbooks and other reading genres. You can
help your child by ensuring they have ample time to read at home each night.
In Writing, students are beginning narratives, focusing on developing
conflicts. Conflicts they might choose from would be Person vs. Person,
Person vs. Society, Person vs. Self, or Person vs. Nature.
Remember that Wednesday is Veteran's Day, and there is no school that day. If
you have any questions, please contact us at lholly@iusd.org or
bcone@iusd.org. Thank you.
Barbara Cone
Laura Holly
