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Nov. 1, 2009
Dear Parents,
Thank you to all who came to the Batty Banquet. The children had a
grand time speaking before you. This was a wonderful opportunity for the
children to sample their public speaking skills. Thank you all for bringing
food and supplies.
Our focus of study this month will be Immigration and Mapping the World. Each
of the children will be expected to prepare an Oral Report on how their
ancestors came to this country. Details of this project are in your child’s
DE Folder sent home yesterday . This project is due on Monday, Nov. 30. I did
not get to spend a great deal of time explaining the project to them but I
will next week. Please use tag board for the Family Tree and Map (not foam).
We will begin Social Studies next week and will continue through the
next few months. We will start with a Mapping and Magnets Unit. The standards
from this unit are as follows:
* To use and identify a compass rose
• To understand where N, S, E, and W are in the city of Albuquerque.
• To read a map using a grid, symbols and legend.
• To discuss the difference between a map and a globe.
• To identify different types of maps.
• To create a map using a compass rose and legend so others can use it.
• To recognize that magnets can produce motion by attracting some
materials and has no effect on others.
• To describe how magnets have poles (N and S) and that like poles
repel each other while unlike poles attract.
• Observe that some forces produce motion without objects touching.
During Literacy Cycle our genre study will be historical fiction. We will be
reading books about the migration of people to our country from the pilgrims
to present day immigrants. In the past, I have asked the children why they
think people from other countries would want to come to our country these
days. One of the answers was, “For the Balloon Fiesta of course!” I so enjoy
listening to the thoughts of children. Here is a list of some of the
historical fiction literature we will be reading to help with our study:
• Follow the Drinking Gourd (A Story of the Underground Railroad)
• If you Were on the Mayflower
• If Your Name was Changed at Ellis Island
• The Courage of Sarah Nobel
• How May Days to America
• Grandfather’s Journey
• The Story of Jumping Mouse
• Molly’s Pilgrim
• The Great Migration
• Dandelions
• The Hundred Dresses
• The Keeping Quilt
• The Whispering Cloth
• Gleam and Glow
I would like to recommend Eve Bunting as a fabulous author who writes
beautifully written historical fiction for children.
During Reader’s Workshop we will begin studying reading comprehension
strategies which help us to become better readers. We will continue using the
strategy of “Making Connections.” When children understand how to connect the
texts they read to their lives, they begin to make connections between what
they read and the larger world. This nudges them into thinking about bigger,
more expansive issues beyond their universe of home, school and neighborhood.
We will also delve into the strategy of questioning. Questioning allows us to
dig deeper into a text and leads to inferring. Please refer to the Reading
Comprehension section of my webpage for more detail on these strategies.
I will begin modeling with making connections close to home and then move
on to global issues or cultures and places further removed from most
children’s lives. We will use our personal and collective experience to
enhance understanding. We will also learn how to summarize what we are
reading in written form.
In Writer’s Workshop we will be studying how to write a personnel
narrative. We will begin with mapping our hearts and then venture on to
writing stories about moments and stories that have made an impact on our
lives.
I look forward to meeting with all of you during conference week.
Conferences will be held on Nov. 23 and 24th.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Eileen
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