December...what?

How is it December already? I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of food, family, friends, and fun! Here is a quick run-down of what we will be working on this week:

Spelling: Tomorrow, your child will be bringing home their spelling list for this week. The quiz will be on Thursday, since this week is just a review week of the past 4 spelling reviews. No sentences are necessary for this review test.

Language Arts: We spent the month of November looking at punctuation marks, specifically quotation marks, periods, and most recently commas. We have noticed that commas are EVERYWHERE and it is hard to figure out when to use one and when not to. This week, we'll be switching gears and looking at prefixes. We will come to understand what prefixes are, what they mean, and how they can change the meanings of words.

Reading: We have been working on understanding Non-fiction Text Features. We are understanding their importance and how they are deliberately chosen to help relay information about a particular topic. We will finish up learning about the many different features of non-fiction this week and then spend the next couple of weeks learning about Non-Fiction Text Structure.

Writing: Your child brought home his/her personal narrative before the break. We are now shifting gears to learn how to become effective non-fiction writers. Have your child search their home libraries for any sources of non-fiction they have and would like to bring in to share. We will spend a lot of time looking at various sources and learning how to effectively incorporate structures and features in a non-fiction piece.

Math: We are in full multiplication mode! This week, your child will bring home their first multiplication chapter test. This test covered multiplication concepts only. We have just begun looking at facts. So far we have covered 2s and 5s and have briefly begun looking at patterns for a factor of 9. I highly encourage multiplication math fact practice at home. There are many FREE apps available when you search multiplication fact practice. Any of them would be a great starting point.

Science: This week we will begin to look at and learn about various fall and winter constellations. In January, we will have the opportunity to go in STAR LAB, which is our district's portable planetarium. We will spend these few weeks in December understanding constellations, the reasons for seasons, and focus on the Big and Little Dippers. Then, in January, we will go in STAR LAB to view these constellations as we would see them in the night sky.

Here's to a fun, yet busy week ahead!