Weekly Update: Sept. 3-7

Weekly Update

Important Reminders:

• We will have our Library time on Tuesday this week.  Please plan to return or renew any library books you have on this day.  Thanks!
• We will meet with our Buddies for the first time on Tuesday morning.  We are planning to go outside to chalk and visit with our buddies.  Mrs. Tilley's 4th grade, Mrs. Schoeffel's 1st grade, and our class are buddies this year.  So there will be at least 2 fourth graders to every first grader.  Stay tuned for pics on the BLOG of our first time together.  
• BOOK ORDERS are due Friday, Sept. 7.  
• A HUGE thank you goes out to Mr. Hrach for helping us with our Salt Maps on Friday.  The kiddos did a fabulous job making them.  (Pics have been posted on the BLOG)  We will paint and label the maps this week, and then they will be coming home.  
• Please remember to check, and initial, your child's planner every night.  Homework and important notes are written in the planner daily.  Thanks for your help with this!
• Please send a snack with your child that is NUT FREE every day, as we do not eat lunch until 12:40.  Thanks!

Important Dates to Remember:

• Sept. 3 - No School
• Sept. 4 - We meet our buddies!
• Sept. 5 & 13 - Intake Conferences (use this link to schedule your conference now: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aacac2ca4fc1-intake )
• Sept. 7 - Mystery Reader
• Sept. 7 - Concord Movie Night - Come visit me at the Snack Table
• Sept. 10-14 - Leader of the Week = Cadence
• Sept. 10 - Aislyn's Birthday
• Sept. 13 - Thomas's Birthday
• Sept. 14 - I will be at a new textbook adoption meeting for Science in the afternoon
• Sept. 17-21 - Leader of the Week = Kaden
• Sept. 19 - Early Release & Buddies
• Sept. 24-28 - Leader of the Week = Kaybree
• Sept. 28 - No School - District PD Day

Check Out What We Are Learning This Week:

Writing:  
We are continuing to work on our Realistic Fiction pieces. We will be working on writing a great lead to hook our readers, adding in dialogue, making sure our settings can be pictured by the readers, and working on great endings.  We will continue drafting this week, and will work on editing and revising next week.  The students are working really hard on these pieces, and I am enjoying reading what they have so far! 

Reading:  
We will continue to read Tiger Rising, while focusing on using the story arc to notice important details about characters, finding meaning in repeated details, and using precise academic language when discussing the characters and the text.  

Math:  
We will begin Ch. 2 on Tuesday.  We will learn and use the Addition Properties and Subtraction Rules, look at and notice the patterns in addition and subtraction, estimate sums and differences, and begin adding whole numbers.  

Spelling:  
The students will be given their first sort of words to begin working with.  The students will need to learn the patterns in these words, and apply those patterns to other words in books they read and in the writing they do.  We are not just memorizing the words to pass a test, but learning and applying the patterns of words in order to build a knowledge of words.

Social Studies:  
We are finishing up Lesson 1 (or Ch. 1 as I call it) with painting and labeling our Salt Maps, and completing our brochures about the 5 regions of the US.  We will also have a quiz over the Regions of the US on Wednesday.  The students will have to identify which region is which.  We will begin Lesson 2 on Thursday.  Lesson 2 is about American Indians and Their Land.  We will begin by learning the American Indians Origin Stories, and the Migration Routes of the First Americans.  

Have a great week!