Phonics

We will finish our unit on long a syllables, focusing on words with the spelling patterns a, a-e, ai, and ay. Students will continue practicing their new trick words: America, school, and thought. Our Unit 10 assessment will be on Thursday 2/12, and on Friday we will begin unit 11 on long e syllables by introducing the vowel teams ea, ee, and ey.

Reading/Writing

In Wit & Wisdom this week, we will continue working with our read-aloud, The Legend of the Bluebonnet. Students will practice retelling the story using key story elements such as characters, setting, problem, and resolution, and we will discuss the life lessons we can learn from the text. We will also sort and define vocabulary words from the story and work together on writing strong introduction sentences for our informational paragraphs.

Math

This week in math, we will continue our Geometry unit by focusing on 3-dimensional shapes. Students will practice identifying and counting the faces, edges, and vertices of different 3D shapes. We will also work on comparing flat (2D) shapes with solid (3D) shapes to better understand how they are alike and different.

Religion

As we continue to prepare for First Reconciliation on March 7th, students will keep practicing the Act of Contrition prayer each day in class. We ask that families continue to practice this prayer at home as well. We appreciate your support! In our new session, we will focus on learning about the Holy Spirit and how we can ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in our lives. We will also review the difference between sins and mistakes and begin reflecting on our own choices through an examination of conscience.

Science

Our new science unit will focus on materials, properties, and engineering. Students will explore the question, “Why do we wear clothes?” and investigate the different properties of materials used for clothing, such as texture, flexibility, and absorbency, and discuss how these features make materials useful for different purposes. They will then apply what they learn by designing and building a hat that helps protect them from the sun.

Phonics

We will continue to focus on spelling and reading words with the ai and ay vowel teams. Students will practice choosing the correct spelling of homophone words, such as main and mane, by thinking about each word’s meaning. We will also learn and practice our new trick words: America, school, thought.

Reading/Writing

We will wrap up our learning about the Pioneers and read a Native American legend, The Legend of the Bluebonnet. Through this text, students will learn what makes a story a legend, review key story elements to help with retelling, and work on defining unfamiliar words.

Math

We will continue working on geometry during math time this week. Students will learn to identify fractions of a set, construct a variety of 2D shapes, and classify and sort 2D shapes based on their attributes.

Religion

Due to the short week, we will not be completing a chapter in our Reconciliation books. Instead, we will continue learning about confession and penance, as well as exploring the different kinds of sin, to help deepen students’ understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Social Studies

During our social studies time this week, we will be learning about the 2026 Winter Olympics. Students will explore where the Olympics are being held, what countries participate, and the different winter sports athletes compete in. 

Phonics

We will finish unit 9 on r-controlled vowels (er, ir, and ur) with an assessment on Tuesday 1/27. After that, we will begin learning about vowel teams, focusing on ai and ay to make the long a sound. Students will also learn new trick words, including great, away, and country.

Reading/Writing

In Wit & Wisdom, we will continue working in our module on the American West. Students will use the text Journey of a Pioneer to gather evidence for their next informational paragraphs and practice adding strong details to their writing. We will also analyze visual art to deepen our understanding of the time period and support our reading and writing work.

Math

We will begin our next chapter on geometry. Students will learn to identify two-dimensional shapes by their attributes, such as the number of sides and angles, and practice counting the sides and angles on different shapes. We will also explore how to partition shapes into equal parts, including halves and thirds.

Religion

We will begin Session 4 in our reconciliation books. Students will learn the meanings of the words forgiveness, confess, and contrition. We will read and discuss the story of the paralyzed man and talk about how Jesus healed people both physically and spiritually. We will also discuss the important parts of forgiveness.

Social Studies

We will finish our economics unit by exploring the question “How can I be a smart consumer?” Students will share examples from their own families to connect new ideas to real-life experiences. We will practice using reasoning skills to think about the costs and benefits of buying different goods and learn how to make thoughtful choices as consumers.

Phonics

We will continue our work with r-controlled vowels, focusing on er, ir, and ur. Students will learn new trick words, including father, brother, and mother. They will keep practicing reading and spelling both one-syllable and multisyllabic words with these patterns and will also read an on-level decodable passage to build fluency.

Reading/Writing

Students will write an informational paragraph explaining how the Plains Indians used either plants or animals to survive, using evidence from the text Plains Indians. We will also begin a new text, Journey of a Pioneer, where students will make observations, ask questions, and practice comprehension skills while reading unfamiliar vocabulary. In addition, we will examine how using proper capitalization can change the meaning of writing.

Math

This week in math, we will finish our unit on three-digit subtraction, with our test on Friday, 1/23. Students will practice regrouping hundreds and tens and work on subtracting numbers with zeros. We will spend time reviewing 3 digit subtraction with different activities to help students feel ready. Please see your child’s home folder for a review sheet.

Religion

We will continue working in our First Reconciliation books with a session focused on “Jesus Forgives Us.” Students will learn the meanings of important terms such as free will, mortal sin, venial sin, and moral choice. We will also talk about how Matthew the tax collector experienced a change of heart when he followed Jesus. In addition, students will begin practicing the Act of Contrition prayer.

Social Studies

Our next lesson in our Economics unit will explore the question “Who provides services in a community?” Students will learn about different community service jobs and connect these roles to their own experiences. Through role-playing activities, they will explore the duties of eight different service jobs and discuss why these workers are important to our economy. We will also learn how specialization helps people focus on specific jobs to meet the needs of a community.