October has been a very busy month! Fall festivities, classroom studies, and conferences have made the time go by very quickly. November is nearly here, and below you will find what we've been up to in the classroom, what's coming next, and ideas on how you can support your student at home.
Riggs
We have finished reviewing the first 26 phonograms and are currently reviewing multi-letter phonograms. Please continue to review the phonograms with your student at home. If you have Riggs cards, use them to practice the phonogram sounds. Your student's phonogram homework is also a great tool to practice the formation and sound of each multi-letter phonogram.
Support Idea(s):
- Focus on handwriting and memorization of the sounds. Review the phonogram cards with your student as often as possible. Students should practice saying and correctly forming the phonograms every night. Get creative with how you help your student practice! Here are some ideas:
- Use glue and glitter or rice to write and decorate the phonograms
- “Rainbow write” the phonograms by using many colors of marker or colored pencil
- Use alphabet magnets to show the phonograms on your fridge
IEW
We are continuing to read, recite and examine poetry during IEW time. We have learned many poems, including Sing a Song of People by Eloise Greenfield. The students will focus on verbs, nouns, and adjectives in the upcoming poems. They will also focus on finding the main idea in and summarizing poems.
Support Idea(s):
- When reading with your student, ask them to identify the verbs, adjectives, and nouns in the text.
- Help your student read and recite the poem, Hope by Langston Hughes. Have them practice reciting it to friends and relatives.
Reading
During read aloud time, the students have been listening to both fiction and nonfiction texts. They have been working on identifying information in the text and sequencing the main events in the text. Soon they will be working on comparing and contrasting different texts. During guided reading groups, the students have continued working on many different skills to improve reading and comprehension. Some of these skills include: book sense, retelling, and identifying genre, characters, main idea, setting, information and table of contents. They have also been working on remembering their phonograms through hands-on games.
Support Idea(s):
- After reading with your student, ask them to retell the story to you. What were the main events? What happened first, in the middle, and last?
Math
During math, these are some of the concepts we have been and will be working on:
- Big Ideas: number and operations, process skills, measurement, geometry
- an addition and subtraction fact family has two addition and two subtraction facts that all use the same three numbers
- numbers are used to describe temperature
- geometric shapes can be sorted by attribute
- a number sentence shows which operation will be used to solve a word problem
Support Idea(s):
- Before you correct your student’s math homework, help them double-check their work to be sure that it’s correct.
- Use a thermometer to track the temperature (to the nearest 10 degrees) at your home.
History
During history, we have culminated learning about the early civilizations of the Americas. We are now beginning to learn about the early American explorers. Some key concepts we will be learning about include:
- A review of Columbus and his journey to the Bahamas
- The subsequent journeys of the Spanish Conquistadors, Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizzaro
- The conquistadors’ desire for gold, silver, spices, and riches
- The Spanish explorers brought disease with them to the Americas, and many Native American Indians died as a result
Support Idea(s):
- Talk with your student about what they have learned during our science and history lessons at school. Ask questions and see if they are able to answer them. If they are unable to answer your questions, provide extra support for them by reading books (from the library), or finding appropriate websites on the topics we're studying. Ask questions during and after the reading to encourage involvement and comprehension.
Field Trip Friday - The Who, What, Where, When, Why and How Of It
What: “Field Trip Friday” Field trip to Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals and Zenger Farm
When: Friday, November 9th, 2012
Where:
- Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals - 26385 Northwest Groveland Drive, Hillsboro, OR
- Zenger Farm - 11741 Southeast Foster Road, Portland, OR
How: By bus if funds allow, or by parent drivers
We are still looking for chaperons. If you are interested please contact our classroom field trip volunteer coordinators, Mrs. Sanborn and Mrs. Higgins.
Classroom Wish List
- 28 medium (canteloupe-sized or slightly smaller) pumpkins
- We will need these pumpkins for our Ancient Egypt Unit which will be starting the third week in November. Do you know of a farm or grocery store that is willing to donate the left over pumpkins after Halloween? If you can help me collect these pumpkins or have any ideas, please contact me A.S.A.P.
SCHOOL-WIDE NEWS
Jog-a-thon
Thank you for supporting our 6th Annual Cascade Heights Jog-a-thon. This jog-a-thon helps keep our students physically fit and our school financially fit as well. 100% of the funds go directly to our teachers for stipends to enhance the learning environment for our students at CHPCS and to support our PTA mission. Please remember to turn in your money ASAP so we can continue to support our staff and our students.
Calendar at a Glance:
| Monday, October 29th - Friday, November 2nd | Parent-Teacher Conferences |
| Saturday, November 3rd | Riggs Class for Parents |
| Tuesday, November 6th | Election Day! |
| Thursday, November 8th | Sock Hop - 3:45-4:30pm, Run by Mr. Weaver |
| Friday, November 9th | Field Trip Friday - Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals, Zenger Farm |
| Monday, November 12th | NO SCHOOL - Veteran’s Day |
| Thursday, November 15th | PTA Pizza and BINGO Night, 5:00PM |
| Wednesday, November 21st and Thursday, November 22nd | NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break |
Thank you for your continued support and have a great week!
~Mrs. Varis
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