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.

Phonics

We will begin Unit 9, which focuses on the other r-controlled vowels. Students will practice spelling words with er, ir, and ur, and they will learn the trick words picture, learn, and earth. We will work on reading grade-level decodable texts fluently and will also use spelling option procedures to help determine the correct spelling of the /er/ sound in different words.

Reading/Writing

This week in Wit and Wisdom we will continue working with the text Plains Indians. Students will use the table of contents and other nonfiction text features to help them find information. They will identify the main topic and relevant details and practice choosing the most important information for a paragraph. In their writing, students will use irregular plural nouns and learn to define important terms such as plains, tipis, tribes, fertile, and nomadic.

Math

We will continue working on 3-digit subtraction. Students will practice subtracting 3-digit numbers and rewriting horizontal problems vertically so they can line them up according to place value to solve them accurately. They will also write number sentences to solve word problems using 3-digit subtraction. Our 3-digit subtraction test will be next week on Friday, 1/23.

Religion

This week in Religion, we will begin Session 2 in our reconciliation books. Students will discuss God’s forgiveness and learn how Jesus heals our souls. We will also read the Resurrection story and discuss the three Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation) and how they welcome us fully into God’s family, the church.

Social Studies

We will continue our economics unit by exploring the question, “How are goods made and brought to us?” We’ll learn about important natural resources and how they help our economy grow. Students will create a process diagram and a flowchart to show the steps of how natural resources are turned into the goods we use every day and how those goods travel from their source to the people who buy them.

Phonics

We will begin Unit 8 in phonics this week. Unit 8 focuses on the r-controlled vowels ar and or. Because this unit is only one week long, students will take a phonics test on Friday. The trick words for this unit are world, answer, and different.

Reading/Writing

In Wit & Wisdom, students will continue to learn about the American West. They will write an informative paragraph explaining how people’s actions impacted the American West, make connections between important vocabulary terms, and discuss what life was like for American Indians during this time.

Math

In math, we will be starting our next chapter, which focuses on 3-digit subtraction. Students will learn how to regroup tens for ones and hundreds for tens and apply related addition and subtraction facts to solve problems.

Religion

In religion this week, we will begin our Reconciliation preparation. Students will practice reciting the Act of Contrition with support and learn that God created us to live in friendship with Him. We will discuss how Adam and Eve lost the gift of God’s grace, explore the impact of Original Sin, and define the meanings of reconciliation and sin in age-appropriate ways.

Social Studies

We will begin our next chapter in social studies, which focuses on Economics. Students will explore the question, “How do people use our environment?” They will learn to distinguish between things that come from nature and those made by people, analyze how people live in different environments, and describe how natural resources are used for food, clothing, and shelter. We will also discuss the causes and effects of land, water, and air pollution.