Weekly News: Q3W8 March 3-7

Hello, Kindergarten Griffins!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and is looking forward to a short week last week of quarter 3, leading up to spring break!

Looking Ahead: 

For an upcoming money/coin unit, in Math, we are asking that each scholar bring to school 10 pennies, 10 nickels, 10 dimes, and 4 quarters in a Ziploc baggie labeled with their name on it.  We will return the baggie when the unit is completed.  Thank you in advance!  If you have any questions, please ask your classroom teacher. 

Classics to Keep

We're nearing an exciting milestone in Kindergarten as our Literature classes will shift from teacher read-alouds to the student-led reading of some wonderful books!  As we look forward to the start of the 4th Quarter, we will begin reading our first Classic to Keep.  As you purchase these books and prepare to send them in, please help us preserve our class Sense of Wonder as we explore these stories and have the scholars experience them for the first time in class.  We will be sending them home as we finish each book, and we love when the students enjoy them again and again at home.  Stated simply, please do not read the books with your child before we read them in class.  

Below is a list of all 5 books we will read in the upcoming weeks, along with the ISBN.  Please try to purchase the same ISBN as we will be using in class so that all students will have the same page numbers to follow along as we read together.  All books are readily available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble, for about $5 each.  

Little Bear                                   978-0064440042
Little Bear’s Visit                        978-0064440233
Mouse Soup                                978-0064440417
Mouse Tales                               978-0064440134
The Grasshopper on the Road    978-0064440943

We begin with Little Bear. Students will need this book no later than Monday, March 31st.  It is important that each student have their own copy at school to complete with the readings for Literature class each day.  Please only send in one book at a time.  Thank you!

This Week: 

Please continue sending your child with empty paper towel rolls for our Tall Tales celebration (please no toilet paper rolls or other rolls, as these do not work well).  Thank you in advance! 

Reading Bags/Check-Ins:

Reading logs still need to be signed and completed each night for homework.  Please make sure that your child brings their reading bags back to school each day in their backpack.  We have started reading with your child one-on-one, and our goal is twice a week per student, however, it varies by week when your child reads with their teacher and how often. Your child will receive a new list or book, as the teacher assess for fluency and comprehension when reading with each scholar. 

Library: 

KA/KB - Tuesday

KC/KD - Wednesday

This Week Academics:

Math Skills

• Cumulative Test #3 on Monday, 3/3
• Discussing Addition

Language Arts Skills

• Spalding Phonograms: gn (2 letters), wr (2 letters) 
  
• Spelling Words: old, bad, red, of, be
• Identify letter names
• Isolating sounds in words
• Identify phonogram sounds
• Identifying rhyming words
• Letter formation/pencil grip, writing phonograms on paper
• Distinguishing upper- and lower-case letters; naming letters
• Identifying rules and markings on spelling words.

Grammar

• Types of sentences (statement)

Literature

Paul Bunyan

• Tall Tales
• Exaggeration vs. Fact
• Hyperbole
• Dialect
• Author's Purpose (inform/entertain)
• Virtue: Courage

Core Saying

none

Poetry

Rain

History/Science

• Science:
• Weather Unit (rain, rainbows, the water cycle, and clouds)
• Discuss the importance of rain and its impact on the environment.
• Discuss how rainbows are formed.
• Learn how the water cycle works from beginning to end.
• Learn about different types of clouds and what their shapes mean.

• History:
• 
  

Homework Reminders

• Be sure to read daily for 20 minutes; 60 minutes this week. Reading Logs will be collected this Thursday. Please record on the Reading Log page. If you miss a night, please record 0 minutes and initial rather than leaving it blank.
• Spalding handwriting practice. Spalding homework will continue to be in the Written Phonogram and Spelling Word Review format-please read the GH logo homework sheet for instructions.  On Monday-Tuesday scholars write the list of phonograms and words once; on Wednesday in preparation for our spelling test the list is written twice.
• Memorize poem by Thursday!

Upcoming Assessment

• Math Cumulative Assessment #3 – Monday, March 3rd
• WPR Assessment – Wednesday, March 5th
• Spelling Assessment – Thursday, March 6th

Upcoming Events

• March 6 ~ Tall Tales Celebration
• March 7 ~ Teacher Professional Development Day/ No School
• March 7-16 ~ Spring Break

Have a wonderful week!

Together for our children - The GHNO Kindergarten Teachers