1. March 31, 2017
Dear Parents,
This week, we completed our study of letter/sound association of initial Zz and Hh and turned our attention to the last 3 consonants: Vv, Yy, and Ww. Although we focus on proper letter formation each week during Word Study, and do extremely well during guided practice, we are trying hard to remember to write all our letters correctly and not revert back to old habits during independent writing in preparation for first grade. We highlighted the sight words into, but, by, not and this in our shared reading texts and added them to our Word Wall and word rings. We enjoyed adding the poems In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb and The Little Leprechaun to our poetry journals, along with colorful visualizations.
In Reading Workshop, we learned that authors don’t explicitly tell us everything. Instead, they build in little clues in the pictures and words. It is up the the reader to look carefully for these clues and think deeply in order to infer the author’s intended message. We learned to look closely at the characters’ facial expressions and actions to infer how each character is feeling in a given situation. We imagined how we would feel if we were in that situation and what we would would think or say. We are having fun reading books in the Fish and Frog Series and putting additional words on the pages with Post-it Notes by writing what we infer the characters might be thinking or saying.
In Writing Workshop, we were so proud to share our published personal narratives with students in 3V. They loved our books! We began reading and exploring How-to books and listed what we noticed about them. We learned that How-to books are teaching books that organize steps to complete a task in sequential order with clear pictures and words that help the reader understand exactly what to do. We read and followed step by step directions to assemble a special lion and lamb project. We brainstormed things that we were experts at and could teach others to do. Next week, we will begin to turn our ideas into how-to books.
In Math, we examined the 100 chart, looking for patterns. We noticed how the numbers go up by one in the ones place as you go across each row and how the numbers go up by ten in the tens place as you go down each column. We noticed how all the tens have zeros and all the middle numbers have 5s. We learned how to count by 5s and looked at even and odd numbers, too. We practiced counting to 100 from any given number. We also explored building and ordering numbers from 30 to 100.
In Science, we began our Unit on Wood and Paper. We compared and contrasted 5 samples of wood: pine, basswood, cedar, plywood, and particleboard and listed their properties. We learned that wood comes from trees, but that some wood is transformed by people. We studied flow charts that teach how particleboard and plywood are formed. We read The Story of a Chair and went on a wood hunt in our classroom to find objects that were made of wood. We were able to identify plywood that was used in some of the objects and examined wood shaving from a pencil.
In Social Studies, we completed our study of how physical traits, needs, styles, abilities, and personal tastes and preferences change over time.

2. Health Barn Assembly: Tues., April 4 School Spirit Day: Wed., April 5
We continued to read and answer comprehension questions using the app Raz Kids. We loved sharing our nature objects and participating in the Art Appreciation workshop. As always, we enjoyed our Maker Monday Explorations! Thank you for all the Makerspace donations!!!
Wishing you a lovely weekend!
Linda Yelvington
Looking Ahead:
Health Barn Assembly: Tues., April 4
School Spirit Day: Wed., April 5
PTO Meeting with Guest, Dr. Kuder, Wed., April 10:00 a.m.
Spring Break- Schools Closed: Mon., April 10 – Fri., April 14
Schools Reopen: Mon., April 17
Kindergarten Field Trip to the Tenafly Nature Center: Wed. May 3
Kindergarten Show: Fri., May 9:30 a.m.
Memorial Day-Schools Closed: Mon., May 29
Special Notes:
A very special thank you to the Reed Family for the lovely green St. Patrick’s Day bagels. We loved them!!!
Please be sure to practice sight words daily. Fluency reading words newer words on the ring will help support your child as he/she moves to the next reading level.
In preparation for writing How-to books, kindly help your child identify things that he/she can make or do well and practice telling key steps in sequential order.