Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

It is getting cold out there!  Thank you for sending your child to school with warm jackets and clothes.  Time certainly flies....I can't believe we are in November already.  Next week is Ms. Alyssa's solo week and in early December, her time with us is up.  She is going back for another semester at St. Michael's College to finish up her double major.  When Ms. Alyssa is conducting her solo week next week, I am still at ABS and helping out, but I am not the main teacher.  This next week is a week for her to practice what it is like to plan and teach all classes.  She will do a fantastic job and the students are very excited.

Reading:
We love the Mercy Watson books!  Ask your child about the silly things that happened today in the book "Mercy Watson think like a pig."  We were laughing out loud!  As a class, we are practicing identifying character traits as we read these stories.  We learned that characters can be described "on the outside" (ie what they look like) and "on the inside" (ie how they act and think).  We discussed as a class and decided that Mercy Watson is a very selfish character.  She is also obsessed with hot-buttered toast and will do almost anything to get it.  It is unusual for us to read books with characters that exhibit these characteristics so we had many conversations about the complexities of all of us.

Writing:
We continued our writing in small moment personal narratives.  This week, the students learned how to add adjectives to describe the setting and how to create interesting beginnings.  We practiced using "starter words" or "starter phrases" to get us going as authors.  We also read the beginning paragraphs of several mentor books to get ideas how "real/professional" authors use the language to create interesting beginnings.  (We will read the whole books at a later time.)  I encouraged the students to read as writers sometimes.  When you read as a writer, you are less focused on the re-telling/comprehension aspect of literature.  Instead, you pay close attention to the word choice and the sentence structure.  Even first and second graders can do this.  You can support your child at home by asking the following questions "why do you think the author chose (this word)?" Why do you think the author changed the font here?"  "What words did the author use to describe the feelings/the setting or the problem in the story?"

Upcoming Events and Reminders:

• Ms. Alyssa will do her solo week next week.  I will help out and be at ABS
• We have our Harmony Team Breakfast on 11/18 at 7:30-8:15.  Please join us for a morning fun time!

Best,
Maria