WIth the short week, we will be reviewing previously learned phonics skills, completing different Thanksgiving activities, learning about the man who invented the balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and designing our own balloon, and practicing addition skills in math. 

Phonics

We will continue practicing silent e words. This week we will learn how to read and spell two-syllable silent e words. The trick words for this week are right, place, and together. Our next assessment will be this Friday, 11/22.

Reading/Writing

We will be wrapping up Module 1 this week. Students will be discussing all of the things we have learned about change. Students will also experiment with a variety of sentence lengths, sequence events in a text, and determine the central message of a text

Math

We will begin working on 3-digit addition this week. Students will use expanded form to add 3-digit numbers and add numbers in the 100s place. Students will also practice adding 10 or 100 mentally and regrouping. 

Religion

We will work through Session 8 in our Finding God textbooks, Jesus Calls Us to Love. Students will discuss the jobs of different church leaders. Students will also explain how the pope is the leader of the Catholic church and how the line of popes traces all the way back to the first apostles.

Science

In our next science lesson, students investigate the effects of rocks tumbling in a river. Based on their observations, they construct an explanation for why there is sand at a beach. In the activity, Rocking the River, students pretend to be a river and tear up pieces of construction paper to model what happens to rocks as they travel along the river.

Religion

We will focus our attention on session 7 in our Finding God textbooks entitled “God Loves You.” We will define the word miracle, and we will also discuss how spending time with God in prayer and at Mass can help us remember how much God cares for each and every one of us.

Math

We will spend Monday and Tuesday reviewing 2-digit subtraction strategies for the exam on Wednesday, 11/13. Please see your child’s home folder for ways to practice at home. We will start 3-digit addition next week. 

Phonics

We are starting a new unit in Fundations on Monday. This unit focuses on vowel-consonant-e syllable type. This type of syllable has a vowel, then a consonant, then an e (v-e). The first vowel is long and the e is silent. Examples include cape, home, and pine. The trick words for this week are only, house, and move.

Reading/Writing

We are wrapping up our first module about the changing of the seasons. This week students will identify and sequence key details in the text, Sky Tree. Students will also practice identifying and revising missing parts of an informative paragraph.

Science

We will be finishing up our science lesson from last week about erosion and Earth’s surface.

Religion

Next week is Vocations Awareness Week, so we will learn about how God has a call for each of us in our lives. We will learn that we are all special in God’s eyes and we belong to Him through the sacrament of Baptism. Additionally, we will learn that our actions can bring peace to others.

Math

We are continuing to practice 2-digit subtraction. Students will get more practice with the 2-digit subtraction traditional algorithm and re-writing horizontal problems vertically in order to solve. We will also use addition to check our subtraction. Finally, students will be solving two-step word problems.  

Phonics

We will continue to practice reading and spelling multisyllabic words. Students will also practice adding suffixes to multisyllabic words. We will have our unit 5 dictation assessment on Thursday 11/7.

Reading/Writing

We will continue reading Sky Tree while students make observations about the text and the illustrations. Students will apply all they have learned about change to make connections between all of the texts we have read. Students will also practice revising a sample paragraph.

Science

We are back to science for the next few weeks. Our next science unit focuses on erosion and the earth’s surface. Students develop a model of the earth’s surface and use it to discover an important principle about how rivers work. In the activity, Paper Mountains, students take turns using a spray bottle to make rain fall on paper models of mountains to observe patterns of how water and rivers flow.

Religion

We will be learning about All Saints Day this week in Religion. Students will identify saints as those who have died and now live with God in heaven. They will be able to recognize that we celebrate the feast of All Saints every November 1. Students will also discuss the saints as examples of how we can live our lives.

Math

We will continue working through 2-digit subtraction strategies. Students will practice 2-digit subtraction by drawing base ten blocks. Students will also practice using the traditional algorithm to subtract two-digit numbers. Finally, students will practice lining up two-digit numbers in order to subtract.

Phonics

We will continue working through Unit 5. Last week, students reviewed how to read and spell multisyllabic words. We will continue to divide words into syllables. Students will learn to keep the first syllable closed by keeping the consonant after the first vowel with the first syllable. Students will also be introduced to four new consonant suffixes: -ness, -less, -ment, -full and three new vowel suffixes: -able, -ish, -en. Students will also practice the spelling of ic at the end of multisyllabic words, like in panic. The trick words for this week will be always, often, and once. 

Reading/Writing

Students will answer the question “How does the weather impact leaves in fall?” by writing another informational paragraph. Students’ writing should include a topic sentence, 3 pieces of evidence to support their topic sentence using transition words, and a conclusion. Later in the week we will move on to a new text called Sky Tree, and we will examine the cycle of the seasons in words and paintings.

Social Studies

To wrap up our first unit in Social Studies, students will be using their knowledge of maps. Students will be identifying and locating geographic features on a physical map. Students will also use a political map of the United States to identify the location of various US states.

Religion

In Religion, we will learn about Jesus’ grandparents (the great saints Anne and Joachim).  We will also review the Ten Commandments and what they mean for us as we grow in our faith. We will break them down into two main parts: relating to our relationship with God and relating to our relationship with others. Students will also identify good and bad choices and explain what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Math

We will be beginning two-digit subtraction. Before we start two-digit subtraction, we will be reviewing different strategies for one-digit subtraction and subtracting multiples of 10. After our review, we will break apart 10s and 1s to subtract two-digit numbers. We will also practice using a number line and 100s chart to subtract two-digit numbers. 

Phonics

We will be wrapping up our unit on adding suffixes (-ed, -ing, -es/s, -er, -est) on Tuesday with a dictation test. We will begin Unit 5 on Wednesday, which focuses on breaking apart and reading multisyllabic words. 

Reading/Writing

We will continue working with the non-fiction text, Why Do Leaves Change Color? Students will use different strategies to determine unknown words in the text. Students will also determine the main idea of the text. We will also be learning how to write a conclusion paragraph for an informational text. 

Social Studies

Our next lesson in Social Studies focuses on using maps. Students will explore the key components of a map. Students will locate places on a map, use a map grid, map key, and compass rose, and follow cardinal directions. They will use their map reading skills to answer questions about three different locations