LANGUAGE ARTS
JAN. 5-9:
Your child will be reading “Friends Forever.” This non-fiction selection, illustrated with photographs of all kinds of friends, tells how friends help each other and have fun together. You may want to do some of these activities with your child:

Words, Words, Words

Using index cards or paper cut in 2”x3” pieces, have your child write the words below and read each word. Have your child add their word cards to their word box.
Ask your child to use the new words in sentences about his or her daily activities.
Have your child pick up the word cards one at a time, tell something about the word, and then put the card into his or her word box.

This week’s practice:

Phonics: words that end with syllable –le as in tickle; words in which l blends with another letter as in blue; and words that end with –er, -est.
High frequency words: each, great, other, place, school, talk, together
Encourage your child to read for at least 30 minutes outside of class each day.


JAN. 12-16:
Your child will be reading “The Fox and the Stork.” This animal fable teaches a lesson about good manners. You may want to do some of these activities with your child:

Words, Words, Words

Using index cards or paper cut in 2”x3” pieces, have your child write the words below and read each word. Have your child add their word cards to their word box.
Help your child think of a rhyming word for each word. Together, make up rhymes or riddles using the rhyming pairs: door-floor; king-find; made-played; who-knew; would-could. For example, “It’s on the floor behind that door.”
Have your child use the words in sentences and place the word cards in his or her word box.

This week’s practice:

Phonics: long vowel o; words in which s or r blend with another letter as in slow or crack; and words ending in –s, -ed, -ing.
High frequency words: door, kind, made, who, would
Encourage your child to read for at least 30 minutes outside of class each day.
End of Book 3. PLEASE REVIEW ALL LEVEL 3 HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS AS YOUR CHILD WILL BE POST TESTED.

NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH.

JAN. 20-23:
Book 1-4

Your child will be reading “A Bed Full of Cats,” a story about a boy whose beloved cat disappears, only to reappear weeks later with four kittens. You may want to do some of these activities with your child:
Words, Words, Words

Using index cards or paper cut in 2”x3” pieces, have your child write the words below and read each word. Have your child add their word cards to their word box.
Have your child use each word in a sentence about a pet, a school activity, or a favorite toy or game.
Make an additional set of word cards. Place all the cards face down and play the card game Concentration with your child. Take turns choosing two cards, reading the words, and keeping both cards if they match.

This week’s practice:

Phonics: long vowel e; contractions made with ‘s, n’t, ‘ll.
High frequency words: also, anything, know, moved, only room, should, those, write
Encourage your child to read for at least 30 minutes outside of class each day.

JAN. 26-30:
Your child will be reading “Me On the Map,” a selection that introduces children to maps of the world, country, state, town, street, and house. You may want to do some of these activities with your child:

Words, Words, Words

Using index cards or paper cut in 2”x3” pieces, have your child write the words below and read each word. Have your child add their word cards to their word box.
Ask your child which word has a capital letter. Why does that word begin with a capital? Then help your child tell something about each word in a sentence. For example, “The earth is a planet.” or “The earth is where we live.”
Have your child think of words that rhyme with town.

This week’s practice:

Phonics: long vowel a; and words ending in –ake, -ate, -ed, -ing.
High frequency words: country, Earth, over, special, town, world
Encourage your child to read for at least 30 minutes outside of class each day.

MATH:
Chapter 6
Your child is learning about the different aspects of time and will study clocks and the calendar in the chapter. She or he will develop an understanding of how long a minute is and identify what part of the day (morning, afternoon, etc) typical events take place by relating them to everyday activities. Your child will also learn to read an analog clock using the hour and minute hands to tell time to the hour and half hour. Using the problem-solving strategy, act it out, he or she will begin to use elapsed time (the length of time an activity takes) to find an ending time of an event. Your child will also read and use the information on a schedule to solve problems.

This chapter also introduces the calendar. Your child will read and use a calendar to name the days of the week and the months of the year. He or she will focus on the specific order of both the days of the week as well as the months in a year.

Vocabulary: hour, minute hand, o’clock, hour hand, calendar, month, days, year
Draw a series of blank clock faces on a sheet of paper for each player. Draw hands showing 12:00 on the first clock on each page. Write each of the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on an index card. Shuffle the cards together. The first player picks a card. That player says, “I am going to ____. It will take me ____ hours,” filling in the first blank with the name of an activity and the second with the number of hours on the card. Then that player draws hands on the next clock on his or her page to show the time the activity will finish. Return the card to the pile, and then the next player takes a turn. The goal is to get back to 12:00.

SCIENCE
Chapter 7
In the science chapter Weather, your child is learning about different types of weather and tools that are used to measure weather. Our class has learned that different tools are used for temperature, wind direction, and rain amounts. We have also learned how clouds form and the different types of wet weather. The children have also investigated the differences in the seasons.
While learning about weather, the children have also learned many new vocabulary words. Help your child to make these words a part of his or her own vocabulary by using them when you talk together about weather.

Vocabulary: weather, temperature, thermometer, water vapor, clouds, sleet, season

SOCIAL STUDIES
We will be celebrating Geography Week during the week of Jan. 12-16. First Gradewill focus on The United States of America.

UNIT 6

Our class is beginning a new social studies unit called “My World Near and Far.” We will look at where people live, how we are connected, and how we are both different and alike. You can help your child get ready for this unit by doing the following activities.
-Take your child to visit the cultural center of an ethnic group in your community. Talk about the customs that make each group special.
-Look through magazines and books to find pictures of people and places from around the world. Talk about places that would be interesting to visit. Find places that look the same or very different from where we live.