Important Dates

• Valentine’s Day February 14
• February 21st is a holiday– No School.

Reminders

• Please be mindful of our Valentine’s Day policies for this year: There will be no food/candy sharing. 
• Please practice at home with your students– 
  • how to tie their shoes
  •  how to zip up their jackets. 

Language Arts

What are we learning?

We continue to study poetry, and students are so engaged in reading and writing poems!

As readers,  students are learning to:

• Make connections to poems they have read
• Use expression and pace to show the mood of a poem
• Think about how a poem makes them feel and what the poem is really about
• Discover their favorite poems and reread and talk about their favorite phrases or lines in poems

As writers, students are learning to

• Write free verse poems
• Bring out what’s important in their poem by using tools and techniques such as repeated lines and words, white space, and line breaks
• Share their poems and listen to poems of their peers to get new ideas
• Reread their poems to decide if their poem sounds the way they want it to sound

Home/School Connection

Poetry allows children the opportunity to explore and have fun with words, write about what really interests them, and express their personalities! Sharing poetry together is also a great way to highlight language.

Ways to encourage exploration of poetry at home:

• Read poetry by different poets. Many popular poets (such as Shel Silversteina nd Jack Prelutsky) have their poetry online.
• Read the poems at least 2 times. The first time you read the poem, be expressive and rhythmic and see if your child can feel the rhythm, perhaps by tapping their feet to the beat. For the second reading, ask your child to notice techniques/tools the poet has used, what they liked about the poem, and how the poem makes them feel! 
• Plan your own family poetry jam! Each

member of the family can choose and

practice a favorite poem, and then set aside a special time to celebrate poetry by having each person share their poem.

Math

What are we learning?

• We are learning about how to read, write, and identify 3 digit place values.
• We are learning to identify 10 more, 10 less, 100 more, and 100 less of a given number.
• We will continue to work on patterns.
• We will continue to work on estimating.

Home/School Connection

• Talk with your student about the difference between the digit and the value!

Science

What are we learning?

We are continuing our unit on Matter. Students will be able to:

• define matter and give examples
• describe characteristics of the three phases of matter: solids, liquids, and gases
• classify and compare objects as solids, liquids, and gases 
• understand the everyday use of water as a solid, liquid, and gas 
• communicate observations of the transformation of matter from one phase to another 
• investigate how an increase in temperature can cause melting or evaporation 
• investigate how a decrease in temperature can cause condensation or freezing

Home/School Connection

• Read the book States of Matter on MyOn

• Try a few experiments at home to observe      ice melting to change to liquid. Observe the mirror in the bathroom after a shower or bath. Discuss condensation with your child!

Social Studies

What are we learning?

• We are learning about Christopher Columbus and Christopher Newport’s contributions and explorations. 
• Students are comparing the ideas and explorations of these two explorers and how they impact our world today.

Click here to see what students are learning in Specials!