Parents, thank you for your patience while the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) was being prepared for the year. The students have taken the test and brought home a report last week which shows their reading lexile. Please let me know if you did not receive that report. The goal is to have your child read in the 700-1,000 target range by the end of the school year.

OCTOBER READING:

Students will independently read a book from a different genre each month. Class time will be given every day for silent reading and students are expected to read a minimum  of 10 pages a day. If they are unable to complete this in class, then reading becomes homework.

The genre for the month of October is science fiction. Students should show their selected science fiction book to me for approval. As a response to this literature, students will make a shoebox diorama, with a description of the scene and the page number from the book glued or taped on one side of the box, and the title, author and summary of the book glued or taped on the other side of the box. The students have been given the grading rubric. Check out the following websites for ideas on making a shoebox diorama.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Diorama

http://www.abcteach.com/babysit/projects/dioramas.htm

http://www.dltk-teach.com/books/book_reports/m-diorama.htm

WRITING:

This week students will begin persuasive writing.

LITERATURE:

We are currently reading the book, “Sign of the Beaver,” by Elizabeth George Speare. This is a Newbery Honor Book which tells the story of 12 year old Matt as he faces challenges and dangers alone in the Maine wilderness of 1763. This literature study enhances our research of the North American Natives.

MATH:

This week we continue Chapter 3: Multiplication.

SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week students will work in groups to research a particular Native American region.

BIBLE:

This week we continue Unit 2: Writing in the Books of Poetry.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE:

Students will memorize scripture weekly and take a written test each Friday. The memory verse for this week is John 11:25-26 and the test will be this Friday, October 17. Students will be graded on writing the verse accurately, including correct wording, spelling, punctuation, grammar and scripture reference.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 11:25-26

SPELLING:

Lesson 10 words will be tested this Friday, October 17.

Soft and hard g

1. colleague
2. language
3. image
4. tongue
5. college
6. garbage
7. pigeon
8. original
9. guidance
10. dialogue
11. judgment
12. disguise
13. argue
14. gauge
15. garage

 Challenge Words from “Sign of the Beaver”

1. rummaging
2. venturing
3. vaguely
4. begrudgingly
5. anguish

DATES TO REMEMBER:

• Joni and Friends Event: October 24
• Homecoming: October 31
• NO SCHOOL Veterans’s Day: November 11
• Happy Birthday to Owen McCann: November 25
• NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Break: November 26-28
• End of First Semester: December 5
• Elementary Drama “A Bag Full of Fables”: December 5
• K-6 Christmas Program: December 12
• NO SCHOOL Christmas Break: December 15-January 2
• School Resumes: January 5