Dear Parents,1-6-17

This week we started our group inquiry projects. We are all studying dinosaurs. Students are divided into groups of four or five. They are learning how to work cooperatively in a group. Ms Hendrix is working with us. Learning to disagree agreeably and providing kind, specific, and useful information to our peers are goals of this unit. Look for dinosaur posters in the hall next week. Our next inquiry project is student choice. Students are beginning to brainstorm topics they would like to investigate.

Please help your child with their reading folders if they are not “snappy”. If you would like to meet with me concerning providing support for homework, please call to schedule a time we can meet with your child after school. Students are eager to choose new books each morning. Keep up the good work with reading at home. Remember, Raz Kids, a computer based reading program, is available on devices at home. I sent home instructions this week. If you need more information, let me know.

Reading

Story  Life in the Forest

Amazing Words for Oral Vocabulary

environment, thrive, slimy, capture, require, inhale, sludge, creature

High Frequency Words

around, find, food, grow, under, water

Phonics  

Long u sound - huge, tube, cute, mule, June, use, flute, rule, cube, rude

Inflected ending -ed - rushed, lasted, printed, wished, checked, sniffed, handed, called, trusted, smelled

Comprehension Skill

Author’s purpose, background knowledge, fluency