The Week of February 14, 2011

LIFESKILL OF THE WEEK:

The lifeskill that we are working on this week is Responsibility.... To be accountable for actions.

SPELLING/READING
This week we will be reading the 19th story in our reading book, "The Disguise" (U4S4). The skill we will be focusing on is Plot. Stories have plot, or a series of events that center on a problem, or conflict. A conflict can be a problem between two people or groups, or between a person and nature. Conflicts can also be problems that characters have within themselves. The climax is the place where the action of the story builds and the conflict must be faced. the resolution is the place where the problem is solved.

The spelling words for this week are:
powerful, cheerful, slowly, suddenly, lately, action, correction, peaceful, painful, safely, carefully, truthfully, location, pollution, beautiful, thoughtful, daily, weekly, hopefully, and invention.
Tuesday night homework is due on Wednesday.

The vocabulary for this week is: cautious, chanting, dangerous, disguise, principal, recite, squatted, and suspected.

Parent Activities To Encourage Children's Reading
By Joyce Melton Pagés, Ed.D.
1. Establish a family silent reading time. Make this an important family routine; this lets children see their parents reading, helps them understand that their parents value reading, and provides a quiet time to enjoy books and family.

2. Visit the library and check-out books on a regular basis. Go to bookstore and library story times.

3. Help your child find books related to his/her interests and hobbies. These books will be more motivating and interesting for them (because they are already interested).

4. Help your child locate books with characters that are his/her age or in his/her grade in school. Reading is much more enjoyable when children can relate to story characters.

5. Allow children to choose their own books. Allow them to read easy books (below their reading level). Some children will enjoy read-along audio cassettes (which you can check out from the library). Initially, it is important for reluctant readers to spend time simply enjoying books.

BOOK REPORT
The book report for February is "Fantasy". Fantasy stories include folktales, fairy tales, tall tales, fables, and science fiction. We have discussed the book report and all the terms. I have asked each student to put the book report form in their Home Folder so they can review the types of questions and the assignment for the book report with you. Part of the book report is making a board game. They have written the criteria in their Agenda. The book report and board game is due Monday, February 28th.

STATE TEST
State tests are just around the corner. The State Writing test will be February 15, 16, and 17th. The 1st round of the State Reading and Math test will be March 1st-10th in our classroom. Please try to schedule doctor's appointments outside of those times so your child will be able to complete the tests in a timely fashion. There are several other ways you can help your child be successful with these important tests. Some of them are: adequate sleep, nourishing breakfast, and a positive “can do” attitude. You can be their “cheerleader”. J

AAI means “ALL ASSIGNMENTS IN.” If students are focused in class they have time to finish all of their assignments except for Spelling and Math homework. Each Monday I will send home a sheet that will tell you if your child is missing any work in each subject area. Please review it with them Monday night, sign it, and have them return it to class on Tuesday. Anything that shows up missing on that sheet is work that was to be completed in the previous weeks. The students need to complete the work and turn it in to me as soon as possible. The Life Skill of responsibility is very important to learn at a young age. The following students were responsible about all of their work in class this term, and are on AAI:

Sydney
Eddie
Tyler
Jazmin
Evert
Anthony
Jorgie
Juan
Andrea
Grace
Trinity
Teeona
Simone
Sydney W.
Elizabeth
Rebecca
NICE WORK!!