Newsletter for the Week of December 10 - 14, 2012

Newsletter for the Week of December 3-7_ 2012 -

Unit 3, Week 2 - Little Quack

    This week our Focus Story will be Little Quack, written by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Derek Anderson.  This story is about a family of growing ducklings who must find the courage to leave the nest.  Little Quack's four brothers and sisters are brave enough to follow Mama to the pond--will Little Quack be brave as well?
     Our Target Skill will be plot identification.  We will also continue to practice retelling a story, as well as distinguishing the difference between realism and fantasy.  We will work on identifying, forming, and matching the letter 'Rr' to its phoneme--/r/.



Amazing Words:  duckling, pond, paddle, plunged, proud, brave

High-Frequency Words:  Review 'me', 'with', and 'she'.  (Please continue to practice all of our Popcorn Words at home as well!)

Letter:  Rr


Thank you to http://books.simonandschuster.com for the cover image!

December Calendar

December Calendar 2012 -

December Menu

December2012 -

Newsletter for the Week of December 3 - 7, 2012

Newsletter for the Week of December 3-7_ 2012 -

Unit 3, Week 1 - Little Panda

     This week our Focus Story will be Little Panda by Joanne Ryder.  We will learn all about baby pandas and discuss the parallels between panda and human babies through this heart-warming story of the birth and growth of Hua Mei, the first giant panda cub to survive in captivity, in the San Diego Zoo.
     Our Target Skill will be comparing and contrasting.  We will also continue to practice retelling a story and identifying the main idea of a story.  We will work on identifying, forming, and matching the letters Bb and Nn to their sounds--/b/ and /n/, respectively. 

Amazing Words: weigh, measure, healthy, bamboo, curious, and explore

High-Frequency Words:  me, with, she  (Please continue to practice the following words at home as well: I, am, to, a, the, little, we, my, like, have, is, he, for.)

Letters: Bb and Nn

Thank you to http://www.digitalpencil.org for the cover image!

Turkey Food Craft - Thanksgiving Rotations Day, Wednesday, November 21st

Below are pictures of our class and their turkey creations from our Thanksgiving Rotation Day on Wednesday, November 21st! 

Scarecrow Cookies - Tuesday, November 20th

Here are some pictures of the scarecrow cookies that we made on Tuesday, November 20th during Small Group time as a reward for being good readers!

Newsletter for the Week of November 26 - 30, 2012

Newsletter for the Week of November 26-30_ 2012 -

Pancakes in Pajamas Day Pictures

Here are some pictures from our Pancakes in Pajamas Day on November 14th!  

Unit 2, Week 5 - A Bed for the Winter

     This week our Focus Story will be A Bed for the Winter by Karen Wallace.  In this story, we will follow a dormouse as she attempts to find a home for the winter.  Along the way she observes other creatures readying their homes for the winter, and narrowly escapes both an owl and a snake before finding a winter home of her own. 
     Our Target Skill this week is determining the sequence of events, or the order in which things happen within a story.  We will also continue to practice making predictions and retelling a story, as well as classifying and categorizing information.  We will be working to identify, form, and match the letter "Ii" to its phoneme--/i/. 

Amazing Words: meadow, nest, stump, tree trunk, hive, den

High-Frequency Words: he, for  (Please continue to practice the following words as well: I, am, the, little, to, a, have, is, we, my, like.

Letter: Ii


Thank you to http://scottsforesmankdg.wikispaces.com/A+Bed+for+Winter for the cover image!

Thanksgiving Lunch Slideshow

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Newsletter for the Week of November 12 - 16, 2012

Newsletter for the Week of November 12-16_ 2012 -

Unit 2, Week 3 - Animal Babies in Grasslands

    This week our focus story will be Animal Babies in Grasslands by Jennifer Schofield.  The students will be introduced to six different young animals (and their families!) from the African savanna to the Australian outback.  We will learn about what life is like for the elephants, prairie dogs, zebras, kangaroos, giraffes, and lions that live in the hot, dry climates of the grasslands.
     Our Target Skill this week is identifying the Main Idea of a story, or, in other words, why it is written.  Also, we will continue to practice the skill of comparing and contrasting similar objects.  We will be working to identify, form, and match the letter "Pp" to its sound--/p/.

Amazing Words: calf, grassland, cub, pup, joey, foal

High-Frequency Words:  we, my, like  (Also, please continue to practice the following words at home: I, am, the, little, to, a, have, is.)

Letter:  Pp

Halloween Slideshow

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Newsletter for the Week of November 5 - 9, 2012

Newsletter for the Week of November 5-9_ 2012 -

Unit 2, Week 4 - Bear Snores On

     This week our Focus Story will be Bear Snores On, written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman. A variety of animals seek shelter in Bear's cave, one by one,  to escape the cold. The animals make themselves at home, but, even after the corn is popped and tea is brewed, Bear just keeps snoring, asleep through it all.
     Our Target Skill for this week is recognition of the differences between realism and fantasy.  We will also continue to work on identifying the setting of a story (where it happens).  We will be working to identify, form, and match the letter "Cc" to its sound--/k/.

Amazing Words:  sleep, winter, cave, woods, storm, blustery

High-Frequency Words:  We will continue to practice the words "we", "my", and "like".  (Also, please continue to review the following "Popcorn Words" at home: "I", "am", "to", "a", "the", "little", "have", and "is".)

Letter: Cc


Thank you to http://karmawilson.com for the cover image!  This is actually the author's website and there are some great ideas and activities found here, as well as a list of other stories that she has written, if you are interested.