Rosenthal Reporting
October 2013
Happy Halloween!
Reading
I can't believe our first marking period is nearly over. This month in reading, we have completed the novel The War with Grandpa as a class. Through the reading of this novel, we have worked on practicing many reading strategies, including making connections with the text and asking meaningful questions as we read. By doing this, our interest in the novel is enhanced. The more interested we are in our reading, the better our comprehension will be. In addition, we have been concentrating on crafting detailed responses to open-ended questions by using specific text details to support our response. Currently, we are working in our Lead 21 reading unit on "Finding Common Ground". Our reading has led us to the discovery of how people from different cultures, countries, and places have many things in common. It's very exciting to watch your children grow as readers!
Writing
Today in class we read our "Spooky House" stories to a small group. What creative writing! Some really scared Mrs. Rosenthal.
Our writing piece for this marking period has been personal narrative. The students have work hard this past month to create interesting stories about a personal experience. I am very pleased with the improvement all the children have shown in their ability to tell an interesting story. They have also worked hard to incorporate dialogue into their writing piece. We will be finalizing our papers next week. Next marking period, we will work on informative writing. If you get the chance, point out to your child any writing you read that is informative.
Social Studies
Next week we will be finishing our first unit of social studies. We started our unit by learning about the geography of the world and the United States in chapter 1. In chapter 2 we discovered how the first American Indians arrived in North America and South America. Ask your child to share with you where they came from and how they got here. In chapter 3, we examined the 7 American Indian cultural regions and 7 different American Indian tribes. The students worked in groups to present information about their particular tribe to the class. Their posters were creative and informative. Science will start again on November 11.
Up and Coming Deadlines and Events
Novemeber 6: 1/2 day for students
November 18: report cards sent home
Novemeber 21, 25, and 26: Parent/teacher conferences
December 4: Secret Shop visit (more information to come)
Contact Information
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. My website can be accessed through the CBSD website by going to Gayman Elementary School and teacher websites.
Email: krosenthal@cbsd.org
Website: www.cbsd.org/krosenthal
Phone: 267-893-4381