THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15TH

NEW TERM

Today is the beginning of a new term. There are no missing assignments because all missing work from last term were figured into the grades last Friday. We have talked a lot about staying focused and completing work during class. The students have class time to complete all school work except for book reports, spelling and math homework . Please encourage your child to set a goal to complete all work in class and if they are absent or haven’t completed something in class to finish it quickly at home to avoid missing work.


READING and SPELLING
This week we will be focusing on the words from the ninth reading story, “The Swimming Hole.” We will be learning about Homophones. The words we are studying are:
wood, to their you're, break, close, thrown, would, two, they're, beat, brake, piece, throne, too, there, your, beet, clothes and peace. The students pretest on Monday. They will bring the list home in their Home Folder. Spelling homework is always Tuesday night (due Wednesday morning). I would like them to keep the Spelling sheet in their Home Folder so it can be used at home and at school. This week the homework is to write each word in a sentence. They should number the sentences and underline the spelling word. They should also write each word three times. Please remind your child to review the words each night to be ready for the spelling test on Friday.

The vocabulary works that we are learning this week are bristled, dugout, jointed, naughty, punish, rushes, and shallow.

The skill we will be focusing on is Theme. Theme is the underlying meaning of a story-a big idea that stands on its own outside the story. Sometimes an author states the theme directly. Sometimes readers have to figure out the theme on their own, using evidence from the text to support the big idea. The two main kinds of writing are fiction and nonfiction. Nonfiction gives information or it tells of real people and events. One way to organize nonfiction is to have main ideas followed by supporting details. Other ways are cause and effect fact and opinion, and comparison and contrast.

CONFERENCES
I look forward to meeting with you and your child on the upcoming conference day. I am sending home the conference slips today. Below is a list of the topics I will share at your child‘s conference:

GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
S.T.A.R. Reading Score
S.T.A.R. Math Score
BASIC FACTS SCORE
Weekly Newsletter
Special Plans (IEP/TAG/SPIRAL)
Assignment List
Weekly Missing Assignment List
Redo Papers
Homework

BOOK REPORT
The November book report is HISTORICAL FICTION. The students go to the library every Thursday. They can also go before school, after school, and several other times (which are posted for them) throughout the school day. It is very helpful if you can look at a calendar and plan when would be a good time to work on their book report so it doesn’t end up being a last minute activity. The report is due Monday, November 30th.