Dear Families,

This week in Literacy, our students will continue to build important reading, writing, and communication skills. Here’s what we’ll be focusing on:

📚 Vocabulary

• Critical Vocabulary Words: occasionally, secure, furious

• Vocabulary Strategy: Synonyms and Antonyms

• Generative Vocabulary: Understanding suffixes -en and -ic

• Spiral Review: Revisiting suffixes -able and -ible

📖 Reading
Students will practice:

• Making inferences using clues from the text

• Using text and graphic features to support understanding

• Identifying text structure and the author’s purpose

🔤 Foundational Skills

• Decoding: Recognizing root words

• Spelling: Adding -ed or -ing to base words

• Fluency: Building reading rate and expression

💬 Communication

• Research Skills: Learning how to cite sources

• Making Connections: Linking ideas within and across texts

✏️ Writing Workshop
Our writing focus is Narrative Writing. Students will plan, draft, and revise their own stories using descriptive details and clear event sequences.

Thank you for supporting your child’s literacy growth at home! Encourage them to share what they’re reading and practice new vocabulary words in everyday conversations.

Homework:

Students should read about 15-30 minutes a day.

Dear Families,

This week in Language Arts, we will continue to build our reading, writing, and communication skills through a variety of activities and lessons. Below is an overview of what we’re learning in each area:

Essential Skills and Vocabulary

Our focus words help students expand their understanding of language and meaning.

• Big Idea Words: aspire, confidence, endeavor, fearlessness

• Critical Vocabulary: elegant, foreboding, episode, scowled, intimidated, subdued, disheveled, rigid, feisty, sulked

• Vocabulary Strategy: Understanding homographs (words that are spelled the same but have different meanings) and homophones (words that sound the same but have different meanings).

• Generative Vocabulary: Prefixes sub- (meaning under, below) and fore- (meaning before).
  We will also review prefixes over- and under-.

Reading

Students will practice identifying and using text and graphic features to better understand what they read. We’ll work on visualizing, determining point of view, and identifying the theme of a story.

Foundational Skills

Our decoding and spelling focus will be on vowel + /r/ sounds such as /ûr/ and /ôr/ (as in bird and storm).
Students will also practice fluency by reading in phrases to improve understanding and expression.

Communication

In speaking and listening, students will practice following and giving oral instructions, listening for key details, and making meaningful connections to what they hear and read.

Writing Workshop

Our writing focus this week is on narrative writing. Students will plan and write stories that include clear events, interesting details, and descriptive language.

Thank you for your continued support at home! You can help by reviewing vocabulary words together, reading for 15–20 minutes each day, and encouraging your child to share their writing.

Dear Families,

This week in Literacy, we’ll be reading two exciting texts that help students build comprehension by visualizing what they read and by practicing speaking and listening skills to deepen understanding.

📘 Main Selection: Hurricanes: A Force of Nature

• Genre: Narrative Nonfiction

• Students will learn fascinating facts about how hurricanes form and the powerful impact they have on nature and people.

• We’ll work on the strategy of visualizing—encouraging students to create mental pictures as they read to better understand the text.

• During discussions, students will share what they imagined while reading and listen thoughtfully to their classmates’ ideas.

🎭 Paired Selection: Catch Me If You Can

• Genre: Play

• This short play gives students a chance to experience literature in a different format while continuing to practice visualization and expressive reading.

• Students will have opportunities to perform parts, discuss character actions, and listen actively to one another during group reading and reflection.

🗣️ Throughout the week, we’ll continue strengthening speaking and listening skills by encouraging students to express their thoughts clearly and respectfully while engaging with their peers.

Thank you for your support at home. Ask your child what images they "saw in their mind" while reading—it’s a great way to build deeper understanding and interest in reading!

• Understanding and analyzing plot
• Visualizing details to support comprehension
• Exploring author’s craft and why writers make certain choices
• Identifying and interpreting figurative language

Dear Families,

We’re diving into a great month in ELA filled with reading, writing, and exploring the world through our senses! Here's what's happening in class and how you can support your child at home.

📖 September Reading Bookmark

Your child brought home a September Reading Bookmark this week! This activity is optional, but students are encouraged to read for 20 minutes each day and color in a section of the bookmark for each day they read.

Reading daily builds vocabulary, strengthens comprehension, and helps students become more confident readers. Please encourage your child to find time to read every day—whether it's a book, magazine, or even an article online!

🧠 ELA Module 2: How Do Our Senses Help Us Understand the World?

This month, we are continuing Module 2, where we explore how our senses help us make sense of the world around us. One of our key texts is:

🎥 Animal Senses from Animal Atlas
Genre: Informational Video
Why This Text?
In this digital informational video, students will:

• Recognize the characteristics of digital texts

• Interpret media messages

• Focus on how sound and visual elements help convey meaning

📘 Reading Focus Skills

Using texts like Animal Senses, students will practice:

• Asking and answering questions to deepen understanding

• Identifying media techniques used to send messages

• Understanding and interpreting figurative language

• Analyzing text structure in both print and digital formats

These skills help students become critical thinkers and informed readers, especially as they engage more with digital media in and outside of school.

✍️ Writing Workshop

In writing, students are working hard to complete their personal narratives. They are learning to organize their ideas, use sensory details, and revise their work to make it even stronger.

📚 Grammar Focus

Our grammar lessons this month will focus on possessive nouns—both singular and plural. Students will learn how to use apostrophes correctly to show ownership (e.g., the dog’s bone vs. the dogs’ toys).

🏡 How You Can Support at Home

Here are a few ways you can support your child’s ELA learning at home:

• Encourage daily reading and ask your child to talk about what they read

• Watch a short educational video together and discuss the visual and sound elements

• Point out possessive nouns in everyday writing (menus, signs, books, etc.)

• Ask questions like: “What was the author’s message?” or “How did the music or images help you understand the video?”

• Review your child’s writing and ask them what they’re proud of in their story

Thank you for your continued support in helping your child grow as a reader, writer, and thinker!

This Thursday, students will take their first Literacy Module Test to demonstrate their understanding of key comprehension and writing skills. In preparation, we are focusing on the following areas:

Focus Skills:

• Retelling & Sequence of Events: Retelling a story in order with accuracy and detail.

• Theme: Identifying the central message or lesson of a text.

• Writing Personal Narratives: Developing strong beginnings, sequencing events clearly, and adding descriptive detail.

Grammar Spotlight:

• Subjects & Predicates – understanding how every sentence has a “who/what” and an “action/description.”

• Adverbs & Adjectives – strengthening writing with precise word choice to describe actions and details.

Parent Tip: Encourage your child to share a personal story from their week. Then ask them to identify the subject, predicate, adjectives, and adverbs they might use to make their writing vivid and detailed.

Hello Parents!

This week in ELA, we’ll be reading Kitoto the Mighty, focusing on retelling, literary elements, and theme. Students will practice identifying the main ideas and deeper meanings in the story.

In writing, we’re starting a personal narrative, where students will share their own experiences and craft their stories.

In grammar, we’ll work on complete vs. incomplete sentences, as well as reviewing nouns, adjectives, and adverbs to help strengthen their writing skills.

Excited for a week of great learning ahead!

We’re kicking off Literacy with many of the same community-building activities we’re doing in Advocacy, including classroom expectations and shared reading routines.

Starting Wednesday, we dive into instruction with our essential question: “What makes us who we are?”
To explore this question, we’re reading an excerpt from Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo. We’ll use the text to develop skills around identifying central ideas and analyzing cause and effect relationships in literature.

We are so excited to launch a year of reading, thinking, and growing together!