Mrs. Nitsche's Blog

This week we will be working on some of the following things:

Phonics - We will work on initial and final digraphs - sh, th, ch, wh, ck, kn and wr.

Spelling - The words this week are: old, cold, hold, told, road, coat, know, grow, low, own, bring, brought, next, picture, and read.

Reading - The stories this week are: Four Clues for Chee by Juanita Havill and Young Cam Jansen and the Dinosaur Game (an accelerated reader book) by David Adler.

Math - In math we will continue to work on time. We will discuss elapsed time, using table to determine schedules and telling time to five minute intervals. These are extremely difficult skills for many children, It would be greatly appreciated if you could work on time at home as well.

Religion - We will continue to talk about the Nativity story and in our Reconciliation we will discuss the effects of good deeds.

Friday is a half day with dismissal at 11:30.

I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and I wish great health and happiness for the New Year.

We will be working on some of the following things this week:

Phonics - We will be working on syllables, compound words, y as a vowel and words ending in le.

Spelling - The words this week are: my, by, cry, try, fry, sky, dry, mile, nice, fire, across, best, either, toward, and sometimes.

Reading - In reading the stories are: New Best Friends by Judy Nayer and Wanted: Best Friend by A.M. Monson which is also an accelerated reader book.

Math - In math we have completed the chapter on money which is always very difficult for some children so please continue to practice counting real coins at home. It is also helpful if they are able to make change. This week we will start the chapter on time. This is another difficult chapter especially since digital clocks are so common.

Social Studies - We will complete Unit 3 this week and the test will be on Friday.

Religion - We are working on the Nativity story and working in our Reconciliation books. We are discussing miracles and how we can be more like Jesus.

I know this is a crazy time of the year. Thanks for all your help with the homework. Please don't forget about the accelerated reader

Study Guide
Unit 3 - Social Studies

Please study the following things for the Social Studies Test on Friday, December 12th.

1. Vocabulary - p. 100-101
2. Transportation that links countries - p. 135
3. Needs and wants - p. 104-107
4. Names of service workers - p. 114-115
5. Income - p. 104
6. Using a compass rose - p. 124
7. Making a prediction
8. Steps in decision-making process - p. 108-109

I also want to apologize for my missing Blogs. We have been having trouble with our internet system. I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

This week we will be working on the following things:

Phonics - We will complete the chapter on long vowel sounds and have the test.

English - We will complete the rough draft of our personal narratives and go to the computer labs to complete the final copy.

Spelling - The spelling words this week are: cute, wave, robe, late, mule, tape, joke, fire, pipe, base, call, enough, full, heard, and until.

Reading - The two stories this week are: Spiders Up Close by Judy Nayer and Anansi and the Talking Melon (an accelerated reader book) retold by Eric A. Kimmel. We will have the Unit 2 reading test next week. The best way to prepare for the test is to read with your child for at least 15 to 20 minutes every night and then ask some comprehension type questions as they go along about what they have read. Thanks for your help with this.

Math - We will look for patterns in a 100 chart, identify numbers that are before, after, or between a given number, find the nearest ten, and compare numbers using least and greatest.
If you noticed on the flashcards the children should be working on the facts to 18.

Social Studies - We will begin to work on Unit 3 that deals with work in the community. We will discuss income as it relates to spending and saving - a timely topic given our economy.

Religion - We will discuss prayers of sorrow and talk about what happens at a penance service.

Thanks for all your help and have a great week.

This week we will be working on:

English - We work on developing our personal narratives.

Phonics - Continue to work on long vowels - u and e.

Spelling - The words this week are: have, head, said, give, been, live, come, does, done, some, animals, before, between, knew, and why.

Reading - The stories this week are: The Old Gollywampus by Toby Speed and Snakes by Patricia Demuth. These stories give us a chance to compare and contrast fiction and non-fiction works.

Math - We will be starting the chapter on place value to 100.

Social Studies - We will be reviewing the chapter for our test which is on Wednesday.

Religion - We will be discussing the Ten Commandments and making choices.

On Wednesday several 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders will hold a campaign debate presenting the views of both presidential candidates on various topics. We will attend the debate in the afternoon.

Friday is Halloween. Yikes - watch out! The children may wear costumes and bring treats for their classmates (25) if they wish.

Have a great week.

Unit 2 – Social Studies Test

We will have a test in social studies on Unit 2 on Wednesday, October 29th.
The test will include the following things:

• Vocabulary – p. 52-53
• Cause and Effect – p. 54-55
• Natural Resources – p. 76-77
• Reading a bar graph – p. 80-81
• Ways to conserve natural resources – p. 82-85
• Reading a landform map – p. 60-6l

The chapter review is always quite helpful. Thanks for all your help. The children did really well on the first test and I’m sure they will do just as well on this test.

This week we will be working on some of the following things:

English - Our english test will be on Tuesday and Wednesday (before the field trip). After that we will begin the unit on writing personal narratives.

Phonics - We will continue to work on long vowel sounds.

Spelling - The words this week are: wink, sing, sink, king, long, ring, hang, bank, wing, drink, almost, another, around, food, and under.

Reading - The stories are Furry Mouse by Kana Riley ( a non-fiction selection) and Two Mice
by Lyn Reiser loosely based on the story City Mouse, Country Mouse. This sets up an opportunity to discuss the differences between fiction and non-fiction stories.

Math - We will discuss the concepts of tables and rules and work on problem solving with multiple steps.

Social Studies - We will complete Unit Two and begin to review for the Social Studies Test which will be on Wednesday, October 29th.

Religion - We will begin to work on the parts for the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Halloween is next week. Can you believe it? The children may wear their costumes to school and bring treats for the class if they like. There are 25 children in the class.
Have a great week!

UNIT 3 ENGLISH TEST
STUDY GUIDE
We will be having a test on Unit 3 in English on Tuesday, October 21st..
The test will include:

• Being able to pick out nouns from a sentence.
• Capitalizing special nouns
• Plural form of nouns
• Writing abbreviations and dates correctly
• Finding compound words
• More exact nouns.

Part two will be on Wednesday, October 22nd before the field trip and is very similar to part one.
Thanks for all your help.

This week we will be working on the following things:

English - Titles such as Mr., Mrs., Dr., and Dates; compound words; using more specific nouns in sentences. Don't forget the English test will be next Tuesday and Wednesday (before we leave on the field trip).

Phonics - We will continue working on long vowel sounds - long i and long o.

Spelling - The spelling words this week are: flat, glass, plant, dress, front, bring, grass, glad clap, class, because, carry, don't, goes, and whole.

Reading - The stories this week are Eye Spy by Pat Cummings and Seeing by Joanna Cole.

Math - We will continue to work on fact families to 18, learn how to use addition facts to check subtraction facts, and solve addition and subtraction problems by drawing pictures.

Social Studies - We will learn about different communities and compare and contrast them.We will also learn the difference between producing and consuming goods.

Religion - We will continue to talk about forgiveness and use the story of the Prodigal Son as an example.

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Thank you very much for remembering my birthday with the cards, flowers, and candy. It made the day extra special. Have a great week.

This week we will be working on:

Phonics - Long a sound and Long I sound

English - Capital letters for days, months, and holidays; adding "s" or "es" to make nouns plural; and irregular plural nouns such as men, women, children, feet, teeth, and mice.

Spelling - The spelling words this week are: fall, wall, ball, small, tall, call, all, chalk, talk, walk, keep, new, mother, myself, and warm.

Reading - The stories this week are: The Ugly Duckling retold by Sharon Fear and Duck by Angela Royston. We will be comparing and contrasting the two stories - one non-fiction and the other fiction.

Math - The unit test on facts to 18 using the strategies that we learned including double, doubles plus 1, related subtraction facts and making a ten.

Social Studies - We will study various landforms including island, peninsula, mountain, plain, valley, lake, river and ocean. We will also look at different types of communities in Arizona, Hawaii, and Indiana to compare and contrast them.

Religion - We will begin to talk about the sacrament of Reconciliation.

A few reminders - We are writing letters to a former SJF student who is in Marine Boot Camp.
If you haven't sent in your envelope with a stamp could you get it in this week. Thanks.
Also - Don't forget - no school on Friday or Monday. Yippee!