January 8-13

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to school! I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your child.

This week in our classroom we are continuing to work on non-fiction for both reading and writing.

I read the book I Fly by Bridget Heos. We started by thinking about what we already knew about flies. We read the book over the course of two days and recorded new facts we learned. We wrote questions about flies. We focused on two new vocabulary words: halteres - a stick like part of a fly to help a fly balance and setae - hair on the flies body to help it sense objects that are near.

In phonics this week we continued to learn more about silent letters and digraphs kn and ph. We will look at vowel patterns ea, ey, ei and ai today.

I am beginning to re-assess student reading levels with a one on one assessment. The assessment will take some time. I may not see reading groups during this time. Next week we will be taking the iready for reading. Please be sure to read daily with your child even if they do not bring home a reading book!

In writing, we have been working on adding more to our science lab reports. We made catapults and tested them, we recorded how far a cotton ball and a unifix cube traveled. Students learned how to make a data table for their information. We read an article on pushing as a force. We added more information to our science lab reports. We will compare results of our experiment with a partner today.

In math we have begun learning about measurement in Unit 4.  We will learn how to use a ruler to measure in feet and in inches. We estimated the length of several objects and measured to check our estimates.

We have begun a new unit of Social Studies on maps. We have learned: how to use the symbols on a map, the directions of a compass rose and about map scales. We made colorful compass roses showing the directions north, south, east, west and northwest, southwest, northeast and southeast.

The weather continues to change! Today we have 50 degrees outside and tomorrow it looks like it may snow. Continue to send the appropriate snow clothes each day to keep your child warm outside.

Many students have been forgetting their gym shoes. We have PE on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please be sure to send your child's gym shoes on those days.

There will be no school on Monday, January 15th for Martin Luther King day! Your are invited to Walled Lake Northern High School on Martin Luther King day to see Wixom students perform and to hear Caleb White speak at 6:00 p.m.

Next week ...Thursday, January 18th, is a half day in which students are dismissed at 11:10 a.m. I will be meeting with parents for Parent Teacher Conferences. I have re-scheduled all conferences for that day. If you are not able to make your conference, please let me know so we can find a time that will work for you!

Have a wonderful day!
Mrs. Scheck