January 24th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we start the third quarter, I would like to thank all of you for all of the reading you have been doing at home with your child.  It has been amazing to see the growth in reading from the beginning of the year until now.  This wouldn't happen without all of the practice outside of school!  Reading every day reinforces so many important reading and writing skills.  Thank you so much for all of your support!

This week we are finishing our first informational writing piece.  We've learned so much about what a topic is, how to begin by explaining the topic first, and then including more specific facts that teach the reader about the topic.  The kids are really enjoying writing about topics that they know a lot about!

In math, we are going to use our addition and subtraction math facts in order to figure out “What’s My Rule?” problems.  We will also continue learning about fact families and name collection boxes.  Look at the parent letter for further explanation on the "What's My Rule?" problems and Home Links 5.12 and 5.13 (back to back) to come home this week in a packet as well as an addition and subtraction back to back sheet.

Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts at home.  This quarter, we will be doing addition and subtraction facts to 16.  Please continue to practice these facts at home with your children.  Flashcards are a great way to help your child become faster with their facts.  There are also a lot of fun resources on the Thorson website that help with addition and subtraction, a good one to check out is “Math Bingo” on www.abcya.com.  XtraMath.org is another great resource and a fun way for the children to practice their math facts!  If you would like extra sheets to practice with, please let me know and I will be happy to send them home.

This quarter we will be doing geometry.  Problem solving, money, time, and counting to 120 starting at any number are skills we continually work on in math.

Special Points of Interest

• Family Wellness Night is this Friday at Thorson
• Save the Date - The Thorson Winter Carnival is on Saturday, February 4th

January 16th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we finish up our reading assessments with the students it sure it exciting to see how much growth they've made since the first quarter!  We have really been working hard in guided reading to think of a word that would make sense, when we are stuck.  We move on from there to check that word, and make sure it also looks right (that the letters in the word match the sounds we hear when we say the word).  These are two things you can support at home with the books that come home for your child to read.  The language sounds like this:  "What word would make sense?" and then "Check it, does that look right too?"  

Our study of informational writing has been so interesting!  We will continue to learn lots about polar bear, penguins, arctic foxes, seals and whales this week, as we learn how writers include a beginning that tells the reader what kind of information will be in the book.  We are also learning to take the facts we know about a topic and tell our reader more about them.  Watch for some older writing pieces to be coming home as we wrap up grades.   

In math, we will be working on story problems, turn-around facts and adding two digit numbers without regrouping.  Look for Home Links 5.8, 5.10, and 5.11 as well as a double sided money sheet to come home this week.  Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts at home with your child.

This week we will be starting a "Set to Learn" unit during our science and social studies time.  We will be learning about what it means to be a good listener and we will be completing different activities to help build our listening skills.

Scholastic book orders are due TODAY!  I will be placing the order tonight.  You can go online to order www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and type in the Online Code:  JBVLX

Special Points of Interest

• We will be taking our Math MAP test on Tuesday
• No school next Monday, January 23rd. It is the end of second quarter and teacher record day.
• Family Wellness Night is next Friday, January 27th

Scholastic Book Order

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: JBVLX

Dear Families,

Please remember to place your Reading Club orders by Monday, January 16th.

You can shop and submit your order online or return the order form with payment directly to me. No matter how you order, every purchase you make earns FREE Books and educational supplies for our classroom.

The arrival of the book box is always a highlight - thanks for making it happen!

Happy reading,

Mrs. Majinski

Ordering online is fast and easy:

• REGISTER at scholastic.com/readingclub
• ENTER the Class Activation Code at the top of this letter
• CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
• SUBMIT the order to me by the due date at the top of this letter
• EARN FREE Books for our classroom too!

January 9th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

You may have been learning some new facts about polar region animals from your child last week, as the students were very interested in the start of our new unit!.  We started off by indentifying what we already knew about polar region animals, which wasnt' very much.  Then we listed some questions we have, and we found out that we are really interested in these faraway animals!  Check out the photos of our thinking.  Some of us are even wondering how Inuit people built their houses, since there aren't much for trees in the Arctic.  We were really thinking deeply!  

This week we will begin to study how authors write informational text, as opposed to fantasy and realistic fiction.  We will begin exploring that genre of writing this week and continue for the next few.  This unit of study offers a great opportunity for you at home to do some exploring on the internet or at the Cedarburg Public Library.  

This week we will be introducing addition of two digit numbers.  The children will be using base-ten blocks to find the total weight of pairs of animals.  We will be playing Shaker Addition Top-it to practice our addition facts.  We will also be practicing with more than and less than number stories that involve addition and subtraction.  Look for Home Links 5.6 and 5.7 and story problem sheets to come home this week.

We will be finishing our science unit on Pushes and Pulls this week.  The kids are having fun learning about all the different ways we use forces in school and outside of school.

Scholastic book orders are due this Monday, January 16th.  You can go online to order www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and type in the Online Code: JBVLX, or you can send the order form and money to school with your child.

Winter MAP testing begins this week.  This morning we started our Reading test and we will be finishing it on Wednesday.  Next Tuesday we will begin our Math MAP test.

Special Points of Interest

• No school on Monday, January 23rd.  It is the end of second quarter and teacher record day.
• Family Wellness Night is on Friday, January 27th

January 3rd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back to school!  We hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing but fun winter break!  We're excited to say that this month we'll be integrating our science, social studies and literacy in a unit all about polar region animals!  Beginning this week with some informational read alouds about polar bears and other animals that live in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the world.  We'll also discuss and do some shared writing about what we already know on this topic.  Throughout the month we study the informational genre of writing as we explore many books and notice how authors teach us about topics. 

In math, we are going to begin learning about place value.  We will be using manipulatives, as well as calculators.  The children will be finding mystery numbers after they are given or shown place value clues.  We will also be revisiting money by completing a few fun activities.  The children will be comparing numbers and learning how to use the relation symbols greater than, less than, and equal to.  In addition, we will be doing activities that help the children memorize their addition facts in order to continue developing “fact power.”  Keep working with your children at home on both their addition and subtraction facts.  Look for Home Links 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4 and the Unit 5 Family Letter to come home this week.

Additionally, the students will be learning about Pushes and Pulls in science this week.  The students will be thinking about their favorite jobs and how pushes and pulls are used in that job.

Special Points of Interest

• The holiday party was fun for all.  Thank you so much to all of the parents who donated items!
• THANK YOU for all of the wonderful gifts and cards!  We appreciate your thoughtfulness!
• Please send an extra pair of socks and mittens in your child's backpack for the wet winter weather.
• Winter MAP testing begins next week.
• Scholastic Book orders are due on Monday, January 16th.  I have not received the paper copy of the books orders, but I will send them home as soon as I receive them.  Go to: www.scholastic.com/bookclubs Online Code:  JBVLK