December 23: Happy Winter Recess

As we say goodbye to the year 2014, I would like to thank you all for the lovely gifts and treats sent in these past weeks.  The class collection was extravagantly generous! I was especially touched by the sweet gifts children and their families made.

Wheen we return on Monday, January 5th, here's what to expect:

• We will have Dance Class on Monday.
• We will begin a new unit in Reading. Students will participate in Mystery Book Clubs. Through the studying the genre of mystery, we will try to achieve the  goals of reading with close attention to details, and forming theories based on those details. Students will also review some of the strategies used in studying characters. By participating in a book club, we will improve our ideas through talking out theories with fellow readers. In book clubs, students are expected to read the same books as the members of their club, actively listen to and discuss ideas and to start setting simple reading goals independently. 
• For the first week back, students will still work on nonfiction reading responses as we will continue to research in our social studies unit. The weekly reading response will still focus on nonfiction texts.
• We will also begin a unit on Opinion Writing. Students will learn the essay format as they write to persuade others to share their ideas on a self selected issue. Students will focus on developing a claim (ex. Sport is an important part of school.) and to support the claim with a variety of details ( facts, observations, quotes, description and data).
• We will have Family Friday on January 9th.

Have a happy and healthy holiday season! Here's to a wonderful 2015!