A time to give thanks

This time of year is a great time to think about everything you are thankful for. Your children wrote thoughtful and lovely papers about things they are thankful for this year. I have them hung up for now, but they will bring them home for Thanksgiving to share with you.

Have a happy and healthy holiday! See you all next week at our parent/ teacher conference.

Dreidel Game

We learned about some Hanukkah traditions today.  We read a wonderful story The Magic Dreidels.  We colored a menorah to help decorate our class.  Then we learned to play the dreidel game.  Hanukkah starts next week. Happy holidays!!!

Field Trip

Our field trip to the Science Discovery Museum in Acton is tomorrow (Thursday!) Please remember to send your child in with a bagged lunch, drink, and a separate snack.  We will not be back in time to buy lunch from the cafeteria.
Chaperones, please come to our classroom by 8:45.  The buses will be leaving at 9:00.  You should be able to ride the bus with us on this trip.
Look for pictures from our trip soon!

Summarizing

Comprehension strategy of the month:

Summarizing

A summary is a brief statement that contains all the important ideas of a text.  Summarizing is a great skill to have and a great strategy to practice at home.  It can be as easy as asking, "What was your book about?"

Helpful Hints

Fiction:

Can you retell the story? 

Tell me the story in your own words.

What happened in the beginning, middle, and the end?

Who were the characters?

What was the setting?

What was the problem and solution to the problem?

**Try to have your child retell the story in order of how it happened.  Students often want to tell you the end first, since it is the last thing they read.  Prompt them to start at the beginning!**

Non Fiction:

What was the text teaching you?

What was the main idea? 

List a few details about the main idea.

Maps & Globes

This week, we have started learning about maps and globes, we have also focused on where we live.  We started with our street and moved outward to town, state, country, continent, and world.  Next week we will move onto the compass rose and the seven continents.