Happy New Year!

Hello families!  I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season and that the first week of the new year has been treating you well!  My husband, children, and I traveled to both Minneapolis and Chicago and are looking forward to spending next weekend in our own home. 

It was so wonderful to open the door last Thursday morning and see all of your children's smiling faces!  I missed them all very much throughout our two weeks off of school.

Curriculum Update:

Reading:  This week's main selection is called A Mr. Rubbish Mood which is an exerpt from a chapter book by Megan McDonald titled Judy Moody Saves the World!  Students will be using this text and their small group books to find details for the authors' purposes for writing.  Each of the selections we read this week will also focus on the impact we have on our environment and how we can work together to make our world a healthy place. 

Grammar:  Students are learning to identify whether adjectives are used to describe nouns by telling what kind, which one, or how many. 

Spelling:  The pattern this week is called the "vowel + r sound in air and fear.  The three ways to spell these sounds are ear, are, and air. 

Writing:  Students will be identifying the important parts of a persuasive letter as well as composing one on their own. 

Math:  We are continuing our geometry unit.  This week, students will be learning about lines of symmetry and building and exploring polyhedrons. 

Science:  We have completed the investigations for the Water unit in science!  The unit assessment was originally planned for Tuesday, January 8, but we decided to move it back one day to Wednesday, January 9th.  We are needing more time to go back and revisit some of those earlier investigations.  Your child should have brought home a science composition notebook and a blue guide sheet.  Students should be reviewing each investigation and what they learned in order to help them be prepared for the assessment on Wednesday.  Please help them remember to bring their notebooks back to school tomorrow for extra review. 


Putting water to work by building waterwheels:

Some enjoyed getting wet more than others...

Torro!  Torro!

Observing condensation on our chambers...

Practicing the Water Cycle Dance!

Liquid water on the ground

The sun is coming up

Eee...vaaaaaporation!

Connnnnn....densation!

Preeeee.....cipitation!

**Stay tuned for information on the upcoming Optimist Good Reader Program!
Have a wonderful night and a great rest of the week!  As always, please feel free to comment or contact me via email or phone.
Mrs. Johnsen
johnsen.jill@iccsd.k12.ia.us