Reading Newsletter

Each month Antoinette Fornshell prepares this newsletter which provides tips for reading at home.  Please click on the link below to access the newsletter from the 'Wiki' site.

http://dpsk-5parents.wikispaces.com/

Apple Day

We had a great time with our special Apple Day activities. In the morning we covered an apple with some caramel, added a stick and put it in the oven for a few minutes. This is a treat we will be sharing with our families over the weekend. The best part of the day was when a group of moms brought in lots of apple treats for the class to sample. We voted for our favorite apple drink too. Which do you prefer: cider or juice?

Adventures with Hootie

Hootie had a great time with CVI's family and is on his way to CP's house.

Peek at the Week of September 28-October 2

There is no school on Monday 9/28 in honor of Yom Kippur.

Our Apple Day was a lot of fun. Thank you to all the parents who donated the delicious foods and drinks. We hope all the families enjoyed the caramel apples over the weekend.

AD is the Class Captain this week.

Computer Homework: Please have your child practice typing in the login name for the computer lab. This will help them to be able to access the computers independently. The username is "oxridgelab" (all 1 word, all lowercase) and the password is "Oxridge" (all 1 word, but with an uppercase O--this is the tricky part). Opening up a blank word document and just allowing them to practice typing the username and password over and over will be a big help. Within a few weeks I'm sure they will be logging on with ease!

Writing Workshop helpers begin next week. The kids are looking forward to having some additional "experts" assisting them with brainstorming ideas, editing and being a set of ears to listen to their stories. Thank you in advance for volunteering!

Math: We had our first assessment in math last week and will start "Unit 2: Understanding Addition and Subtraction" this week.

Reading: We had a great time reading Tall Tales last week. This week we will begin Book Shopping for 'just right' books. This is one of the most important skills we need as we dive into our Workshop. Ask your child to tell you what a 'just right' book is. Hint--Goldilocks (they'll know what this means)

Writing: Last week we made our first books, one was a biography report on Johnny Appleseed. The other book was a Fall Senses book. This week we will start our first official unit on "Small Moments/Personal Narratives". These are stories about a small moment from our lives.

Homework

Tuesday 9/29

1. Read for at least 10 minutes

2. Scholastic News: The Constitution Rules (read and do the graph on the back cover)

Wednesday 9/30

1. Read for at least 10 minutes

2. 100 Things Journal p. 56 "My favorite thing in my classroom..."

At least 2 COMPLETE sentences.

Thursday 10/1

1. Read for at least 10 minutes

2. Math: One More, One Less, In Between

Have a great week!

Highlights of Week #4

CD was a very good captain.  (RP)

CD was a really good captain.  (KG)

We made caramel apples with Mrs. Satter.  (DS)

We had an apple tasting party. (CD)

We had our first apple day.  (EB)

We saw a short movie about Johnny Appleseed.  (RP)

We wrote reports on Johnny Appleseed.  (RP)

We took our first math test.  It was sort of easy.  (EB and RP)

We are going to eat apples dipped in melted caramel. It's called caramel fondue.  (FH)

We learned about Johnny Appleseed.  (CM)

We read lots of books about Johnny Appleseed.  (CP)

We colored in a 'Hidden Pictures' coloring sheet.  (OS)

We learned that Johnny Appleseed's birthday was September 26, 1774.  (DS)

We played 'Messy Yard' in gym.  (CN)

We had indoor gym.   (TM)

We made our flower pots in art. (MA)

We also played soccer in gym.  (CVI)

We had our second fire drill of the year. (AD)

We read a tall tale about Mike Fink.  (EB)

We played Social Studies games in computer from our Wiki site.  (TB)

We had 5 minutes of choice time in computer.  (KG)

We read a tall tale about a GIANT man named Paul Bunyan.  (PR)

We learned that Johnny Appleseed's real name was John Chapman.  He was born in Massachusetts.  (DS and FH)

Mystery Reader #1

We had our first mystery reader of the year. TG's mom brought in a great book called Honey Bunny Funnybunny. It was a silly book with lots of tongue twisters.

Peek at the Week of September 21-25

Thank you for coming to Open House. It was great to match up names and faces. Let's work to make this a wonderful year.

Our first Scholastic Book Order will be coming home with your child today. If you are ordering books, please return the order form and your check (made out to "Scholastic Book Clubs") by Friday, 9/25. Thank you to Mrs. Griffin for being our book order coordinator for the year.

Wrapping Paper Fundraiser ends this Friday, 9/25. Please send in those orders.

Fall is officially here this week and we will celebrate the new season with a focus on apples!

We will be having our Apple Tasting this Friday. We will use our senses to touch, see, taste, and hear (the crunch of) this fall fruit.

This week in reading workshop we will also explore the genre of "tall tales" on characters such as Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. Also, we continue to learn about our Literacy Centers. Group work will begin in October and we are taking a few weeks to learn the directions (and expectations!) of our Literacy Centers.

We will also read many apple themed books and do related math and writing activities.

In Writing Workshop we will be writing our first book about the fall season. The goal for this book is to write in complete sentences, starting with a captial letter.

Homework for the Week

Monday 9/21

1. Read for at least 10 minutes.

2. Math: Watch for Falling Apples (subtraction equations)

Tuesday 9/22

1. Read for at least 10 minutes.

2. Grammar: Apple Treats (ending punctuation . or ?)

Wednesday 9/23

1. Read for at least 10 minutes.

2. Apple Poem (fill in to create a poem)

Thursday 9/24

1. Read for at least 10 minutes.

2. Bring in an apple for a special "Fun Friday" project (hint...it will be delicious!)

Have a great week!