Hi Parents,

Reading
This week we’ll be playing a bit of catch up due to school being cancelled last Tuesday. We will continue on with our fact and opinion activities and assignments. Students will have a lot of practice with this important skill and by the end of the week should have a good understanding of these terms.

Writing
This week we will have a surprise gift to open up! We will use descriptive language to describe the items inside, the packaging, and the whole experience. We will work on writing a clear beginning, middle and end while using complete sentences. With bad weather days back to back we will finally get to do this activity this week!

Spelling
Our words this week have the long “u” sound. We will practice throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday.

Math
Due to the snow days, we need to squeeze in a few more days on fractions. Tuesday will be a review of everything we’ve learned and we will assess on Wednesday. Later in the week, we will be starting a new unit that brings back addition and subtraction. We are starting off by reviewing addition with a Pirate board game. We will also remember all of our key phrases when we go over the steps to solving word problems.

Social Studies:
We’re continuing our unit in Social Studies from last week. Students will research a historical figure and create an illustrated timeline about that person. On Tuesday, we will have a timeline assessment where students will need to put life events in chronological order. The rest of the week we will be looking at natural hazards such as hurricanes, fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, and insect infestation. We’ll discuss how people are affected by living in a certain environment. Students will discuss why people live where they do and learn to identify characteristics of different communities, including rural, urban and suburban areas. We’ll learn about Austin’s environment and discuss the weather, natural resources and physical environment. Students will make comparisons to another environment in the United States.

Reminders:
Field Trip to Austin Nature Center on Tuesday, February 4th (will keep you all posted on any changes due to weather.
Early Release Day: February 5th
Life Journals due Friday
Spelling check on Friday
Library day is Wednesday
Valentine’s Boxes due the week on February 10th