Dear Families,

When we are outside, children often ask questions about our building. They want to know the height of the school building, what it’s made of, and how strong it is. They also ask many questions about the way it looks. Their ongoing interest in our building helped us realize that buildings would make a good study topic.

To get the study started, we are gathering all sorts of pictures of buildings. We could really use your help! We welcome pictures from any source, such as newspapers or magazines, postcards, printouts from the Internet, and your family’s photo collection. It would be wonderful if you could include pictures of buildings in other parts of the world, too. Please submit pictures to your child's teacher.

As we study buildings, we will learn concepts and skills in science, social studies, literacy, math, the arts, and technology. We will also be using thinking skills to investigate, ask questions, solve problems, make predictions, and test our ideas.

What You Can Do at Home

Study your house or apartment building with your child. What materials were used to build it? How many floors or stories does it have? How many rooms, windows, and doors does it have? Don’t forget the basement if you have one! How old is your home? Who built it? What are its dimensions?

Talk with your child about the buildings that you see together. Keep a list of the buildings that interest your child. Help your child investigate questions similar to the ones we mentioned above.

Thank you for playing an important role in our learning.

Sincerely,

Ms. Barkley