Important Dates & Reminders

• Winter Break December 21-January 1
• Check out the information for the 14 Days of Cheer!

Language Arts

What are we learning?

Next week we will be starting our new unit Learning About Print within Nonfiction. Students will be learning 

As readers, students will be learning to:

• Think about what they already know about a topic to prepare themselves to read a new book.
• Use text features to help them determine what is most important about a topic. 
• Recognize that authors of nonfiction might include their opinions.
• Use their knowledge about how the information in nonfiction books is organized  to figure out the big ideas of the text. 

 As writers, students will be learning to:

• Think about topics they know a lot about so they can teach others what they want to learn or need to know.
• Develop lists of topics they know a lot about and want to teach others.
• Decide what’s most important to teach their readers.

Home/School Connection

Ways to get your child enthusiastic about nonfiction!

• Think about what your child is passionate about and look for nonfiction books about your child’s favorite things.
• Make connections with what’s happening in their life. For example, if you are about to take a vacation, you can find books, maps or websites about where you are going and explore them together.
• Consider the fiction your child likes to read and find nonfiction books to match. For example, if your child enjoys the Magic Tree House books like Midnight on the Moon, you can pair this with a nonfiction book about space.
• Consider introducing your child to different nonfiction genres and formats about a favorite topic. For example, if your child loves sports stories, you may want to look for biographies of athletes or books about how the Olympics started, and/or read the sports section of the newspaper together.

Math

What are we learning?

This week we are finishing up our math unit on number sense: 

• Compare and order whole numbers
•  Round two-digit numbers to the nearest ten. 
• Identify, describe, and create patterns.

Home/School Connection

Have your students create a pattern at home and take a picture of it and send it to your teacher.

Science

What are we learning?

• We continue to learn about different types of storms and the specific characteristics that can be used to identify them.
• We will continue to measure, record and interpret weather data.
• We will learn to identify weather patterns and how to prepare for weather and storms.

Home/School Connection

• Students can use Pebble Go (username: fcps/ password: fcps) and MyOn to explore books on weather. 
• Pebble Go Titles: Weather, Extreme Weather, and Wet Weather
• MyOn Titles: Meteorologists, Forecasting Weather, Weather, Weather Watch
• Use sticky notes or your journals to keep check on your thinking with notes!

Social Studies

What are we learning?

• We will learn about and compare the lives and contributions of three American Indian cultures of the past and present with an emphasis on the Lakota of the Plains.
  • We will talk about the geography, climate, environment and culture of the Lakota of the Plains
• We will learn about natural, human, and capital resources specifically related to the Lakota of the Plains

Home/School Connection

• Many of us may have lived in or traveled to the Plains of the U.S., if you have, discuss how things in this area have changed and how American Indian cultures have contributed to our world today.
• Discuss with students about the natural, human and capital resources that they see and use in their daily lives.

Positivity Project

What are we learning?

• November 29th - December 5th: Kindness
• December 6th - 12th: OPM - Knowing my words and actions affect others

Home/School Connection

Check out P2 for Families website: https://posproject.org/p2-for-families/

Questions for discussions:

• What does Kindness mean to you?
• How can a bit of Kindness change someone’s day?
• How do you show Kindness?
• Have you seen any of your acts of Kindness affect someone in a positive way?
• What actions can you do at home or at school that cause a positive effect on the people around you?

Click here to see what students are learning in Specials!