Giraffe Family News
November 2024
Kindergarten
In Kindergarten, we are practicing using the tools we have to self regulate our bodies, voices and emotions. These skills will help us be successful learners in school and in life.
In reading, we are learning about community helpers and how we can be a positive change in our community too. We are also learning how to write sentences using the resources in the classroom, our letter sound knowledge and sight words. We are learning how to write equations for addition and subtraction and continue skip counting by tens and fives. In science, we learned about the needs of plants and animals and their habitats.
First Grade
Phonics: We are learning beginning and ending blends.
Reading; Our reading module essential question asks: Why is it important to do my best and get along with others? The students will read stories about playing soccer, a dinosaur who wants to blend in and how to be kind to others.
Math: The students are learning strategies to help them learn how to add and subtract fluently within 20.
Writing: We are starting to write a step by step guide to making friends at school.
Science: The students have been learning about plants and animal defenses.
Second Grade
Hello to our families. This month we will be diving into our HMH stories Recipe for a Fairy Tale, Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, How to Read a Story, Rabbit’s Snow Dance, A Crow, a Lion, and a Mouse, Hollywood Chicken, and Two Cinderella Stories. Utilizing these wondrous stories, we will be learning Story Structure, Sequence of Steps, and asking and answering questions to make sure we’re understanding details. In phonics, we will be focusing on those unpredictable vowel teams that can give us so much trouble like the different sounds for “ow”, “ea”, and “oo”. In writing, we’re letting our imagination soar by learning how to write an imaginative story. In math, we’ll really be diving into word problems to ensure our students are understanding the concepts of addition, subtraction, and when to utilize them. We’ll be really changing things up in science when we learn the Phases of Matter. Would you like to help at home? Please be reading with your student every evening. That really does increase both vocabulary and fluency, and it’s just so fun. Another fun option would be to quiz your students on their math facts. Thank you all for your involvement. Hope your month is as fun as ours is going to be.
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
We are so proud of our grade 4 scholars. They have been multiplying 2-digit by 2-digit. Our 4th graders use their dramatic skills by reading a mini-play from our reading series. They concluded the science energy unit by building a mini wind turbine. We think you are proud of them too!!
Fifth Grade
Hi 5th Grade Families! Things have been really busy in our neck of the woods. 5th Graders have been learning about the Earth, patterns and the sky. This includes learning about all the cool things in our galaxy. We are spending our social studies time learning about the formation of the colonies, trade routes, and the influence African American and Native American persons had on the colonies. We are reading and writing about natural disasters and how we can better protect ourselves during those events. Our math is all about multiplication. We have advanced well beyond just simple multiplication fact practice (however we still need to keep practicing those facts at home nightly) to multiplying 3-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers. Any extra practice you can do with them at home would be greatly appreciated. Add to that all of our matinee practices we have during the week. We will be sending home a Classdojo message about clothing sizes so we can begin to costume the kids. Any questions or concerns, please send a Classdojo to your child’s teacher.
