Pleasant Valley School

Welcome Back! I’m so excited to have our students return this year, and over the summer, we added a new family! Our current enrollment for the year includes: 3 kindergarteners, 2 second graders, 1 third grader, 2 fourth graders, and 1 seventh grader. We are off to a great start and settling into our class routines. I’m excited for all the new things that we will be learning this year!

Calendar: All scheduled events are posted to the google calendar.

Planners, Homework Folders, and Red Reading Logs

Please check your students planner and folder every night. I will be using them as a communication area for homework or other information that I need to let parents know about. Please feel free to leave me comments as well.

Great job remembering RED Reading Logs. Another 100% turn-in and participation rate! Keep reading and remembering to record.

Book Orders

Our first set of Scholastic Book Club fliers have arrived and were sent home on Tuesday 9/3. If you would like to order books, orders are due by September 26th. I will be finalizing orders on the 27th. New families: Our class code is LC2V8.

Our first field trip of the year! Parents are welcome to join us, however we do have enough chaperones and transportation. If you choose to attend, you will need to pay your own admission to both locations. Look for permission slips coming home the beginning of October.

We will have a BBQ lunch with family games and activities. Please RSVP for lunch by October 4th through the Google Form link below.

Math

Unit 1 Numbers 0-5

Counting, Writing, and Comparing

Reading

• Skills: Unit 1 Goals

In many ways, Units 1 and 2 are the most important of the Kindergarten Skills Strand units. Units 1 and 2 lay the groundwork for teaching students to read and write, which will begin in Unit 3.

Unit 1 has three main purposes. The first purpose is to increase students’ awareness of environmental noises and words within sentences. Paying attention to environmental noises and to words within sentences prepares students to pay attention to sounds within words. The ability to hear sounds (i.e., phonemes) is crucial for writing; when we write a word, we essentially write one symbol (either a single- or multiple-letter spelling) for each sound in the word. For this reason, it is important to begin to increase students’ awareness of the sounds they hear.
The second purpose of Unit 1 is to teach students to draw a number of writing strokes used to create letters (e.g., horizontal lines, vertical lines, circles, etc.). As students learn to draw these writing strokes, their fine motor skills will increase, and they will begin to master the tripod grip. This will prepare students to write letters in Unit 3.
The third purpose of Unit 1 is to teach students the meanings of various position words (e.g., right, left, top, bottom, etc.). In Unit 3, students will begin to read and write. Reading and writing are done from left to right and top to bottom, so it will be helpful if students are able to identify the left side, right side, top, and bottom of a page. Additionally, when teaching students to write letters, you will use position words. Finally, you will often use position words when explaining activity pages to students.

• Knowledge: Unit 1 - Nursery Rhymes and Fables

Why Nursery Rhymes and Fables Are Important

This domain will introduce students to nursery rhymes and fables that have been favorites with children for generations. Students will learn about classic rhymes like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” “Jack and Jill,” and “Hickory, Dickory, Dock,” and characters, such as Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffet. Traditional rhymes help students learn vocabulary and build phonemic awareness. By listening carefully to nursery rhymes and reciting them by heart, students develop an awareness of language that will help them become better readers and writers. Because nursery rhymes are fun and involve everyday activities, kindergarten students can relate to them.

In the last three read-alouds, students will also listen to some well-known fables. Listening to fables will help students identify the elements of this genre, learn new vocabulary words, and recognize different types of fiction. Reading fables to kindergarten students may also stimulate class discussion of values, ethics, and behavior.

Science

Topic 3 - Sunlight

What does sunlight do on Earth?

I know its odd to jump out of order, however, I have learned from experience that you can't do some of the Earth Science labs during the winter. We are going to start with Topic 3 - Sunlight and Topic 4 - Earth's Weather before completing the physical science lessons and labs.

Social Studies

Topic 1 - Learning and Working Together

Big Question - How do people best cooperate?

Arts

In art this year we are learning different techniques for using our artistic mediums. We are starting with crayons and oil pastels. At the end of the lesson, kindergartners will be expected to using crayon rubbings and simple lines to create a flower picture.

In music we are continuing with Prodigies Academy. Unit 1 focuses on steady beats.

Math

Unit 1 - Numbers Within 20

Addition, Subtraction, and Data

Reading -

• Skills: Unit 1

Unit 1 will be a review for students who completed the Grade 1 CKLA program. In Unit 1, students will review: (1) a number of spellings from Grade 1 with an emphasis on consonant sounds; (2) one- and two-syllable words; and (3) a number of high-frequency Tricky Words. They will also read new decodable stories from the Unit 1 Reader, The Cat Bandit.

• Knowledge: Unit 1 - Fairy Tales and Tall Tales

Why Fairy Tales and Tall Tales Is Important

This domain will introduce students to classic fairy tales and tall tales and the well-known lessons they teach. This domain will also lay the foundation for understanding stories in future grades. The first half of the Fairy Tales and Tall Tales domain focuses on fairy tales. In this domain, students will the elements of fairy tales and hear the fairy tales “The Fisherman and His Wife,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Students will be able to relate to the problems faced by characters in each of these memorable tales, as well as learn from the lessons in each story.

The second half of the domain focuses on tall tales and the elements of that genre. Students will be introduced to the tall tales “Paul Bunyan,” “Pecos Bill,” “John Henry,” and “Casey Jones.” Learning about tall tales will introduce students to the setting of the American frontier and some of the occupations settlers had there. This will prepare them for the Westward Expansion domain as many of the tall tale characters head west on their adventures. The tall tales in this domain will also introduce students to the literary concept of exaggeration.

Science

Topic 1 - Properties of Matter

Essential Question: How can different materials be used?

Social Studies

Topic 1 - Families Today and in the Past

Big Question: How does life change throughout history?

Arts

In art this year we are learning different techniques for using our artistic mediums. We are starting with crayons and oil pastels. At the end of the lesson, 2nd graders will be expected to use crayons to create a symmetrical picture of a Gnu. They will practice the ladder method to full their page with color.

In music we are continuing with Prodigies Academy. Unit 1 focuses on steady beats.

Math

Unit 1: Three-Digit Numbers

Place Value, Addition, and Subtraction

Reading

• Skills

1. Reading

The Reader for this unit, Classic Tales, contains selections from two different classic tales, “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp” and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” Additional enrichment chapters retelling parts of The Wind in the Willows are also included at the end of the Reader for use at the teacher’s discretion. Students will be given opportunities throughout the unit to practice reading with partners and independently, as well as to demonstrate Read-Aloud fluency.

2. Spelling

Explicit spelling lessons do not begin until Unit 2.

3. Grammar

Explicit grammar lessons do not begin until Unit 2.

• Knowledge: Why Classic Tales Are Important

This unit will expose students to classic children’s stories that use rich language and introduce students to a variety of vocabulary words. Students will be enchanted by descriptive paragraphs and memorable characters as they explore interesting themes and discuss character traits. As they go on adventures with these characters, instruction will reinforce understanding of the elements of fictional narratives, including dialogue, narration, characters, plot, and setting. Students will also discuss the literary tools of personification, perspective, and point-of-view, as well as the themes of friendship, loyalty, hospitality, responsibility, and irresponsibility.

Science

Topic 1 - Motion and Forces

Essential Question: How do forces on an object affect its motion?

Social Studies

Topic 1 - Our Environment

Essential Question: How do people interact with our planet?

Arts

In art this year we are learning different techniques for using our artistic mediums. We are starting with crayons and oil pastels. At the end of the lesson, 3rd graders will be expected to use pressure with crayons to create different values a piece of artwork to create a prairie dog.

In music we are continuing with Prodigies Academy. Unit 1 focuses on steady beats.

Math

Unit 1 - Whole Numbers

Place Value, Comparison, Addition, and Subtraction

Reading - Unit 1: Personal Narratives

Why the Personal Narratives Unit Is Important

This unit examines the genre of personal narratives, which consists of works of nonfiction written by a first-person narrator involved in the events being described. Students read five personal narratives, identifying the elements of the genre and, throughout the unit, using these elements in writing a variety of their own personal narratives. These elements include events proceeding in a logical sequence, dialogue that shows character, vivid descriptive language, characters with defining traits, sensory details, figurative language, and writing strong introductions and conclusions. Examining the genre in this way will help students build their knowledge of descriptive writing.

Some of the genre features are elements students may have studied in fiction-based units in earlier grades. This unit is unique, however, in that the authors of the narratives that students will read describe real events or experiences. Students make meaning from these texts by learning to read them critically and closely, improving their facility in literal comprehension and making text-based inferences. Moreover, examining and utilizing the features of the genre in composing works about their own lives should help students write with increased focus and clarity, and reflect on, as well as make meaning from, their own experiences.

Science

Topic 1 - Energy and Motion

Essential Question: What is energy, and how is it related to motion?

Social Studies - Montana: A History of Our Home

Unit 1: Montana Today

Essential Question: What is Montana like?

How does its climate, geography, and geology affect its people?

Arts

In art this year we are learning different techniques for using our artistic mediums. We are starting with crayons and oil pastels. At the end of the lesson, 4th graders will be expected to use pressure with oil pastels to create different values a piece of artwork to create an ostrich.

In music we are starting to learn to play the recorder. On independent study day, they will continue learning the piano with Mr. Rob on the Prodigies Academy app.

Math

Unit 1 - Proportional Relationships

Ratios, Rates, and Circles

Reading

Unit A: Red Scarf Girl & Narrative

Students begin with narrative writing to quickly boost their writing production, to learn the foundational skill of Focus and to become comfortable with the key classroom habits and routines they will use all year. After exploring the details of how they describe their own experiences and emotions, students pay the same kind of close attention to analyzing the details presented in the unit’s core text: Ji-li Jiang’s Red Scarf Girl, her memoir of growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution.

• Texts
• Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang
• Excerpt from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• "A Boy's Summer Song" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• Excerpt from Colors of the Mountain by Da Chen
• Skills and Content
• Topic & Theme: The impact of individual experiences
• Reading: Examine the differences between a character’s thoughts and actions
• Writing: Use revision to strengthen elaboration
• Activity Highlights: Use an app to trace a character's level of hopefulness over the course of a text
• Text Features: Memoir of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, historic propaganda images
• Sensitive Content

This memoir describes many real-life instances of societal and familial upheaval during the Cultural Revolution in China. Some students find the descriptions of violence upsetting and that these accounts are real occurrences from Ji-li’s life growing up in Communist China beginning in 1966. Students are expected to treat this subject matter and their classmates with sensitivity and respect. If this content is sensitive to your family, please let me know.

Science - Middle School Course 2

Topic 1 - The Cell System

Essential Question: How does the structure of cells determine their function?

Social Studies - Middle School American History

Topic 1: The Early Americas and European Exploration (Prehistory-1600)

Essential Question: Where did some early American Indians live?

Arts

In art this year we are learning different techniques for using our artistic mediums. We are starting with crayons and oil pastels. At the end of the lesson, 7th graders will be expected to layering with oil pastels to create texture in a piece of artwork to create a bird of prey.

In music we are starting to learn the violin. Independent study day will focus on learning the guitar and reading sheet music.

Email: teacher@pvsmt.org
Website: pvsmt.org
Location: 7975 Pleasant Valley Rd, Marion, MT 59925, USA
Phone: 406-858-2343