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