Mrs. Alvarado's Class News

Friday, Sept. 5th

Mrs.Alvarado’s Class News    

Week4                                                                                                 Friday, Sept.5^th

Dear Parents,

     We had another great week of learning!  A few reminders….Monday Sept. 29^th the independent reading project is due.  We also have an early release day coming up on Wednesday, September 16^th. Tonight is movie night at Garrison Mill starting at 6:30.

Here’s a look at next week:

Reading- We are reading “Frindle” by Andrew Clements.  This author has written many great books so if you are looking for something new for your student to read any of his books would be an excellent choice.  The books appeal to boys and girls.  We will finish the book next week. We have worked on comparing/contrasting characters in the book.  We made a character chart to describe the main character.   We also worked on comprehension.

Spelling- Next week our focus will be on suffixes, prefixes, and frequent spelling patterns for the “j” sound.

Grammar- We have been studying nouns, next week we will learn how to make possessive nouns in sentences.

Math- We having been working on solving equations when one variable is missing in the number sentence.  We will be wrapping up Chapter 2 with a test next Thursday.

Science-  We will start a weather unit next week!  I have many fun books and activities planned to share that will help us learn more about weather!

Writers Workshop-  We have been focusing on  ‘Ideas and Content” in our writing.  Next week we will be exploring the phrase  …A picture is worth a thousand words….

Have a great weekend!!!   Hopefully the weather will continue to cool off!  Mrs.Alvarado

August 29th

Mrs.Alvarado’s Class News                                      Friday, Aug.29th

Dear Parents,

     We have had a busy and fun learning week!  I am so impressed with the class.  They work hard and are really enthusiastic about what we are doing.  Below is an overview of what we are going to be working on next week.  It was great talking to all the parents who came to Open House.  I think this is going to be an awesome year!

Math- This week we worked on rounding numbers, place value and number sense.  Next week we will be rounding and adding/subtracting larger numbers, problem solving, and finding patterns in numbers. I will also continue to review basic facts for the timed tests. 

Novel Study- We finished a book called “Dinosaur Hunters” this week. Next week we will begin the book “Frindle”.  The author’s name is Andrew Clements.  If your student likes this book I would recommend any of his books!  They are great books for this age!  I am working on story elements, comprehension, and answering questions in complete sentences.

Social Studies- We are learning about the first groups of Indian clans to live in North and

South America

.  These groups migrated during the ice age and settled in different parts of the world.  We will continue to study this time in history.  We will have a test over Chapter 2 in Social Studies next Friday, September 5^th.  I will send home a study guide/review work on Wednesday so your student can begin reviewing for the test.

Grammar- We continue studying nouns.  We focused on common and proper nouns this week. Next week we will work on capitalizing nouns correctly when writing them in sentences.

Spelling- Next week we will focus on different ways of spelling the “s” sound.  We will also review prefixes and suffixes as well. Unit 4 words will come home on Monday.

Writer’s Workshop- We have been writing “The Legend of the Hurricane” after reading a legend in social studies.

        Enjoy your weekend!                                    Fondly,

                                                                                   Mrs.Alvarado

Friday,August 15th

Mrs.Alvarado’s Class News

Friday, Aug.15th

Dear Parents,

     What a great first week of school. The class is sweet, smart and very energetic!  We are starting to really get to know each other and the students seem to be making new friendships. 

     This week I focused on the class getting to know each other and on beginning assessments. 

     We will be having an Open House on Thursday, August 21^st at 6:30.  This is a great time to ask questions as it is a time the students are not present.  I will be going over curriculum and classroom procedures. If you cannot attend I will send home a packet of information.  Just let me know if there are any questions.

     Take a look at what we are learning:

Math- We are beginning a unit on place-value and basic math facts.  I will be sending home timed tests to help your child review the basic facts.  Mrs.James and I will be splitting our classes up based on ability.  So part the class will have her for a teacher and part of the class will have me.  I will send another letter home to tell you who your child will have for Math for this unit.  We use pre-tests and post-tests to monitor progress.  I will share these test results.  Please review the basic multiplication and division facts with your child.  Thanks in advance for your support.

Spelling- I will be sending home a list of spelling words on Mondays and the spelling test will be each Friday.  I gave a practice test this Friday that will not count in my grade book. I will send it home so you can see the format of the test. There will be a homework assignment each week for parents to help students with.  The skill covered in the homework is the skill that will be on the spelling test on Fridays.

Grammar- We began talking about nouns this week.  We took a noun walk around the building to write down as many nouns as we could see. We reviewed common and proper nouns.  Next week we will learn about plural and singular nouns and the spelling changes with plural nouns.

Writer’s Workshop- We will begin learning about “Ideas and Content”.  We will be writing and talking about things we know because good writers write about what they know.

Social Studies- We will begin a unit on map skills next week.  We have new Nystrom kits with maps, globes and atlases.  The Nystrom kit allows each student to do real hands on learning with maps.  Should be fun.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  I am looking forward to seeing everyone on Thursday night.   Mrs.Alvarado