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Reading and Writing

We have completed our unit on Personal and Literary Essay. Here the students will understand the difference between narrative and non-narrative writing. Students will create a focused and organized piece of writing in support of a thesis. They will also learn how to collect supporting information into categories and understand the structure of an essay.

Our next unit in writing is on Realistic Fiction. The students will learn the qualities of a realistic fiction story, how to create characters with 'troubles', develop the plot and other elements of a story, and use various craft techniques.

In reading, we have started our unit on Mysteries. The students will learn to identify the characteristics of a mystery, read suspiciously, and have book talks. Students will be reading their 'just right' books at school and at home.

Social Studies

We continue to work on our New Jersey Unit which covers the land and geography of NJ, the life and history of the Lenape Indians, and the Revolutionary War. The unit will be followed by a celebration of NJ day in March. Here the students will be immersed in activities and shows that support everything we have covered throughout the unit.

Space

Students have been very excited about our next module in science, The Solar System. We will explore the planets, sun, moon, stars and learn about meteors, meteorites, comets, the milky way and more. This science unit is more research-based due to the nature of the topic. Students will be completing a research project on a planet of their choice for this unit. We have also been using the internet and exploring many wonderful kid-sites for the unit. Computer skills continue to develop as students learn to navigate web-sites, cut and paste pictures and research their planet for their project

Our next unit extends the basic multiplication and division skills children learned in the first half of the year. Here we will review patterns, extend basic multiplication facts, practice making estimates of costs and explore ratios and geometric figures. This will be followed by a unit on fractions. Most of the unit focuses on fractions in a real-world context. We will be reviewing the uses of fractions and fraction notation, developing a solid understanding of equivalent fractions-a key element in comparing fractions, calculating with fractions and solving number stories, and identifying fractional parts of a set and of a region. Many lessons are through hands-on activities.

Cursive

We have started the upper case letters of the alphabet in cursive. Students are very excited as they are beginning to learn enough letters to now write proper sentences.

Please remember that your child should be reading at least 20 minutes each day.