Week of September 11

Dear Parents –

I hope you had a relaxing weekend.  We have a full week of school ahead! 

Here’s a peek at our week ahead:

Monday (Day 4) – Art and P.E. (Swimming)

Tuesday (Day 5) – Library and World Language

Wednesday (Day 6) – Music and P.E.

Thursday (Day 1) – Art and World Language

Friday (Day 2) – Music and P.E.

Hari Raya Cultural Day

Friday, September 15 is our Hari Raya Cultural Day.  This wonderful day gives students an opportunity to learn more about the cultural traditions and celebrations in Malaysia.  Students are invited to wear traditional Malaysian clothes that day, or wear their school uniform.  Our class will participate in games, arts and crafts, and cultural activities in the hallway in front of the Studio between 10:00 – 10:20.  Please feel free to join us at this time or come for the Hari Raya assembly from 11:00 – 11:40. 

Selamat Hari Raya!

Reader’s Workshop

This week we will continue our work on what readers do when they encounter tricky words.  Students will practice strategies to help them sound out unfamiliar words while reading.  We’ll look at common prefixes and suffixes that can help us decode words more quickly.  In addition, students will learn how to use context and picture clues to help them determine the meanings of new words. 

Writer’s Workshop

Last week we completed our first small moment story!  This week, students will begin planning and drafting their second small moment story.  They will be put together with a writing partner who can help guide and support them during the writing process.  During the week, we will also look at how master authors write with intent and begin applying those strategies to our pieces of writing. 

Social Studies

This week we will continue looking at different types of communities and the specific needs for each type of community.  Students will be put into groups to become experts on either a rural, suburban, or urban community.  In this expert group, they will begin reading books to learn more about the benefits and challenges of living in their type of community. 

Math

Our work in math this week will focus on skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s and looking for patterns as we skip count forward and backwards.  Skip counting is an important skill because it lays the foundation for other mathematical skills such as addition, subtraction, and number sense.  We will also introduce money as tool to help us skip count and build numbers.  Practice counting money is woven into many of our lessons throughout the year.  This week students will have opportunities to skip count with US and Malaysian coins and practice exchanging coins for bills.  We’ll end our week reviewing how to tell time on an analog clock to the nearest hour, half-hour, and quarter-hour.  Telling time is another skill that we practice throughout the year. 

Dinner Questions

What do you look forward to the most at school?  Why?

Tell me about what you learned in . . .

What’s your favorite special?  Why?