Hello parents,

Happy November! Gooble, Gobble.  

Don't miss the supermoon! It will look 30% larger and should be beautiful!! Be sure you spy it.  NASA has said the best time to see it is early Monday morning before sunrise as the moon is closest to earth at 6:22 am, EST.  However, Sunday and/or Monday night are also really good times to see this phenomenon.

ELA: we are reading/analyzing our literature book: By the Great Horn Spoon.  We are working on jots (note taking from the text and elaboration).  In addition, we continue to honor our VIP each week and listen and respond to presentations by students and practice writing friendly letters. 

SC Symphony: daily musical compositions are introduced and enjoyed every morning.

Mindfulness: best practices in mindfulness are being incorporated in our classroom this year.

Harmony: best practices school-wide curriculum for building a strong social-emotional community within our classrooms.

AR Reading: Accelerated Reader continues to be an important part of our reading program.  Students are reading appropriate AR books found through the AR book find link and then quizzing on them within 24 hours of finishing their book.  It is critical to support your child in book selection (most books are in our school and classroom libraries) and to remind them to read, read, read whenever the opportunity arises--in the car, while waiting for an appt., to and from school, before bed time, on a Sunday in your jammies, etc.  These books should travel to and from the classroom in a daily fashion for classroom DEAR (drop everything and read) sessions as well as nightly reading homework and beyond.  Students have a goal of 14 points for the second trimester.  Each book has a certain amount of points it is worth.  This information is listed with reading level and appropriateness (grade school, middle school, high school, for example).  Points per book range from 3 to 5, generally, with longer books being worth more points.  On an average this is going to mean your child is reading anywhere from 3-5 books a Trimester. That said, help your child select books that are on their reading level (their latest DRA2 level), and have high interest for them.  This will allow them to accomplish reading books from start to finish successfully.
    
Math: we are working on addition and subtraction of large numbers and will work on multiplication and division as well in the days before Thanksgiving break. Please check your child's planner for specific page numbers. We will continue to review these concepts.  POM solving and presentations (problem of the month) continue.  

**Keep Practicing: students are expected to have their times tables memorized.  If your child isn't saying times tables in the car on the way to and from school and every night for a 5 minute run through (and driving you a bit crazy), something is amiss.  These are goals that were set in early September.  In order for your child to be successful with the math in this grade level, it is important to have these skills down.  Please have some fun with these and have your child rehearse daily so that they can test on these math facts. As your child tests on each one, please check off and initial the checklist sheet and return it to our classroom. Thank you.

Science: experiments with electricity wrap up this week and we will begin our study of solid earth.

Social Studies: the Native American tribes.  This historical study will be research for the first personal narrative essay we write. Students will write from the perspective of a Native American youth.

Writing and Grammar: summary writing continues. Study of various grammar: nouns, verbs, adverbs.

Upcoming Announcements/Events: 
Nov. 18--Jog-A-Thon 
Nov. 18, 19, 20--Goodwill donation drive
Nov. 23-25--Thanksgiving break
Nov. 30--6:30 Parent Club meeting

Thank you for supporting me and the growth of your child in every way.

Warmly,

Mrs. Young