Happy Halloween!!

Spelling Words, Week of October 31, 2011

Spelling Packet,

Week of 10/31/11

Long o sound

1. coach

2. blow

3. float

4. hold

5. sew

6. though

7. sold

8. soap

9. row

10. own

11. both

12. most

13. cold

14. snow

15. tomorrow

16. program

Spelling Packet Instructions

1. Write each word 5 times

               

2. ABC order

3. Pick 10 words.  Use each word in 10 separate sentences.

DUE FRIDAY, 11/4/11

Words Have Power...

That was one important message we got from our author study of Patricia Polacco and her two books, "Thank You Mr. Falker" and "The Junkyard Wonders".  Both stories are about the author Patricia Polacco's childhood, particularly the years of fifth and sixth grade.  In "Thank You Mr. Falker",  Patricia sufferd from dyslexia, and a school bully picks on her and calls her names.  A kind and compassionate teacher named Mr. Falker helps her through this rough time in her life and most importantly, teaches Patricia how to read.

 In "The Junkyard Wonders" Patricia is assigned to a special class that other students in the school call the "junkyard".  Her new teacher Mrs. Peterson teaches her "junkyard wonders" that what some people see as junk, others see as items of wondrous possibilities.  Through optimism and imagination, Mrs. Peterson teaches her students to strive for their dreams.  That class ended up producing a future engineer for the Apollo missions at NASA, a director of the American Ballet Company, an international textile designer, and one of the most successful children's authors of our day, Patricia Polacco.


Most of us were fortunate enough to have a "Mr. Falker" or "Mrs. Peterson"growing up.  A special teacher that made us try harder and made us feel special and unique.  I remember one of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Baucom, my third grade teacher.  She was positive, inspiring, and supremely kind.  This week, share with your child about a special teacher you had.  It will be fun to share memories, and remember that school is so much more than tests and homework.  It is a place to feel safe and know the simple joy of learning.

And the Good News Is...

There is no spelling packet or spelling test this week.

ALSO, NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY!! (Yeah, I've got to work, however)

Spelling Words, Week of October 17, 2011

Spelling Packet,

Week of 10/17/11

Long vowel spellings

1. paint

2. clay

3. feel

4. leave

5. neighbor

6. eight

7. seem

8. speak

9. paid

10. lay

11. need

12. weigh

13. clean

14. play

15. needle

16. weigh

Spelling Packet Instructions

1. Write each word 5 times

               

2. ABC order

3. Pick 10 words.  Use each word in 10 separate sentences.

DUE FRIDAY, 10/21/11

Lost and Found Vocabulary Game

Click here to play the vocabulary game for The Lost and Found.

The Keeping Quilt

Starting later this week we will begin an author study of Patricia Polacco.  She is the author of "The Keeping Quilt".  In teaching reading, it is important to teach students to make connections with the stories they read.  We make those connections in the following ways:

Text-to-text: This type of connection is made when we see something in a story that reminds us of something we read in another story.  For example we were able to make connections between the way Axel behaved in "Cliff Hanger" and the way Mulan behaved as a character in "The Ballad of Mulan".

Text-to-world: This type of connection is when we are able to connect something we read with knowledge about something "real world".  In the story "Something Beautiful" a young girl sees beauty in the very ugly world around her.  Likewise, we may see beauty in surroundings that may not be seen as aesthetically pleasing.

Text-to-self:  This is probably the most relevant type of connection that one can make.  This is when we see ourselves or our life in a character or plot of a story.  For example, I connect to Judy Blume's classic "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" because my own sons remind me of the two main characters Peter, and Fudge.

"The Keeping Quilt" is a favorite of mine because of the deep text-to-self connection I have with the story.  My grandmother was a life-long quilter who made quilts for family and friends.  Although she is no longer with us, my family has several beautiful quilts that help us feel comforted and close to her.  Many of the scraps in her quilts were left-over scraps from shirts, dresses, and pajamas made for my sister, cousins, and myself.  We look at Gramsey's quilts as not only bed coverings, but holders of memories passed.

Gramsey, Wesley, and Connor, December 2008

The End of Unit One

This week will mark the end of our first Reading unit, "Off to Adventure".  During this unit we did lessons on, and applied, the following skills that will be tested on the FCAT assessment:

• Cause and effect
• Character
• Compare and Contrast
• Inferring
• Supporting details
• Sequence
• Plot/Story Structure

In writing, we have learned and applied the following skills:

• Understanding paragraph structure
• Writing a character sketch using strong adjectives
• Writing an engaging beginning
• Writing a summary to a fictional story

Our next unit is called "Celebrating Traditions" which is a great unit to study going into the holiday season, when all of us engage in family traditions.  We will read three realistic fiction stories about different families and the links to their pasts which are special.  We will also introduce our first non-fiction story of the year, "Dancing Rainbow" which tells of Native American traditions.

When you get a chance over the next few weeks, discuss special family traditions and memories.  This is a great way to enjoy treasured memories as well as make the lessons at school more relevant.

Keep reading!!

Mr. Nix

Spelling List, Week of October 10, 2011

Here is the spelling list for the upcoming week.

1. alligator

2. facts

3. sand

4. can

5. handle

6. rattle

7. camera

8. January

9. panda

10. planted

11. clever

12. exit

13. never

14. left

15. fellow

16. hello

17. spelling

18. extra

19. every

20. effort

Spelling Packet Instructions

1. Word Pyramids

example

                         J

                     J      a  

                   J     a    n

                J     a    n   u

             J    a    n    u    a

          J    a     n   u    a    r 

       J    a    n    u    a    r    y

                 

               

2. ABC order

3. Pick 10 words.  Use each word in 10 separate sentences.

DUE FRIDAY, 10/14/11

Ooops!!

Book Fair is on Wednesday October 5th, but the time is 12:40-1:10 PM, NOT 9:00-9:40.  I didn't take into account that Wednesday was an early release day.  I apologize for the confusion.

Don't Forget!!!

Book Fair Wednesday October 5, 2011 from 12:40-1:10 PM
Early Release, Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Spelling Word, Week of 10/3/11

Here are the spelling words for the week of October 3, 2011

The Spelling Packet is due Friday, October 7, 2011.

1. smoke

2. huge

3. save

4. life

5. wide

6. come

7. mine

8. grade

9. smile

10. note

11. cube

12. love

13. side

14. hope

15. escape

16. slope

Spelling Packet Instructions

1. Word Pyramids

example

                         c

                     c     u

                   c     u    b

                c    u     b     e

2. ABC order

3. Pick 10 words.  Use each word in 10 separate sentences.