Newsletter

Reading - We are currently reading The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. The Hundred Penny Box tells the story of young Michael and his Great-Great Aunt Dew.  Aunt Dew moved in with Michael and his family so that they could assist with her care because her failing health made it impossible for her to stay in her home alone. Aunt Dew is 100 years old and as proof she has a box, which she calls the "Hundred Penny Box" which contains her collection of 100 pennies. The pennies in her collection represent the years she has lived, and each birthday she adds a newly minted penny to her collection.  We will be exploring many different reading skills.  Some of the skills we will cover are: predicting, making inferences, summarizing, and character analysis.  Several of the reading assignments will require the students to discuss topics with their parents, so please be prepared to set aside time to discuss various questions several times this week. 

Writing - The students began writing a personal narrative on their biggest accomplishment this week.  In developing their writing skills, we are focusing closely on using graphic organizers and other tools to develop central ideas.  Another focus of this lesson once the rough drafts are completed is on the personal and peer revision process.  We will discuss how to edit for grammar as well as meaning.  The students will create a log of each step in the writing process and what they learned through each step.  The final paper will be due November 15 at which time they will be asked to share what they learned throughout the writing process and how this unit helped them become better writers.      

Math - We began our unit on identifying properties of plane geometric figures such using terms such as polygons and quadrilaterals.  Students will describe the number of sides and vertices of different polygons.  Within these figures the students will identify angle measurements and identify shapes within each figure.  Many manipulatives will be used this week to identify and construct figures.  Students will bring home some of these manipulatives as part of their homework.  Since we have a limited supply of resources, please make sure that you child returns these materials to school each morning with their homework.  A pretest will be given tomorrow morning, so please be sure to sign and return it in order to understand the information we will be covering and how you can help your child throughout this math unit.  

Social Studies - We are continuing our unit on the first Americans.  Students will work in groups to identify how Native Americans influenced where they lived.  They will complete several interactive group activities to identify the characteristics of Native American societies and their early migratory patterns.  Each group will create a poster to aid them with their presentation of their findings to the rest of the class. 

Health - We are continuing our “Love Your Lungs” unit.  We completed the first two lessons on the respiratory system and diseases of the respiratory system last week.  This week we are going to focus on the effect of smoking on the lungs and the problems caused by pollution in the community.  The end of the unit quiz will held Friday November 13.  Please make sure that the students complete the study sheet that will be handed out in class on November 9.   

Technology - The children did a Webquest on Pilgrims using a website from Scholastic. The children got to “tour” a replica of the Mayflower online while answering questions.  In preparation for our trip to Nanjemoy Creek, we visited their website and completed a pre-trip booklet based on the different features on the site.  In Science class the students began their unit on planet exploration.  They will work in pairs over the next two weeks to complete a study of each of the planets and their characteristics.     

Wish List - Egg cartons (any size ½ dozen, dozen, etc.), washed milk cartons (various sizes), boxes of tissues.