Important Dates & Reminders

• January 15th- No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Week of January 15th- iReady Testing
  • January 16th: iReady Reading
  • January 18th: iReady Math
• January 25th- End of Quarter - 2 Hour Early Release
• January 26th- No School 

What are we learning?

Language Arts

• In reading and writing, we are beginning our Poetry Unit. 
  • Students will be reading poems and analyzing techniques that poets use.
  • We will be discussing the theme of the poem and what the author wants us to know/ feel when reading the poem.
  •  In writing, we will be writing our own poems. 
    • We are using techniques such as repetition, fonts, line breaks, and white space.
• In phonics, we will be working on 
  • Ending -ng and -nk blends (rang, sing, clung, drank, think) 
  • Remaining ending blends -ck, -dge, and -tch (click, hatch, bridge)
  • Magic ‘e’ Words
    • Ate, bite, kite, made, huge, note, etc.

Math

In Math, we will be working on

• We are finishing up our Two-Digit Addition and Subtraction Unit. We have been practicing estimating our answers (“What would make sense or be reasonable?”) before using a strategy to solve addition and subtraction problems. We have been using various manipulatives to help us add and subtract numbers in the tens place. We have been applying these strategies to one-step and two-step story problems. 
• Our next unit will be the second part of our Base Ten Unit. In the first part of the unit (in quarter 1), we were thinking about place value in the ones and tens places. Now, we will be moving into the hundreds place. We will be identifying 100 more and 100 less than a given number, as well as comparing, ordering, and rounding numbers up to the hundreds place. 

Science

In Science, we will be working on

• In this quarter, we have been in our Wondering About Weather Unit. We learned about types of precipitation and storms. We also learned about tracking the weather and collecting data. 
• Our next unit will be Matter and Forces. We will be learning about forces, gravity, magnetism, and phases of matter. 

Social Studies

In Social Studies, we will be working on

• Holidays & Traditions. We continue to explore holidays throughout the year. This month we will learn about Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
• Indigenous American Groups. We are beginning an inquiry into indigenous Americans, including the Powhatan of the Eastern Woodlands, Lakota of the Plains, and Pueblo of the Southwest. As we read and learn about each of these groups, we will be thinking about how their geography/environment impacted their daily lifestyles and cultures. We will also be thinking about the contributions these groups have had on the United States.

Questions to ask your child at home.

• Literacy - What poem(s) did you read/write today? What is a theme of the poem (for example, friendship, nature, working hard, etc.)? 
• Math - What are two numbers can you put together to make 10 or to make 20? What is 10 more / less than ___? 
• Science - How would you describe today’s weather? (Encourage them to use vocabulary words like partly cloudy, sunny, foggy, hot, warm, cold, chilly, windy as well as precipitation vocabulary like sleet, hail, rain, snow). 
• Social Studies - What can you teach me about the Powhatan of the Eastern Woodlands, the Lakota of the Plains, and the Pueblo of the Southwest? What were their daily lives like (foods they ate, jobs they did, etc.)?