HELLO, FAMILY!
Over the next three weeks, our class will build their knowledge about 
natural disasters, with a focus on the informational text genre. We will 
read texts and view videos about how Earth’s movements, features, 
and weather can cause natural disasters. Children will also write about the importance of being prepared for disasters. 

 

Discuss the Topic
Set aside time daily for your child to 
share with you what he or she is 
learning. Use these ideas to help 
build your child’s knowledge about 
the topic: 
•Talk about the ideas your child
has added to the Knowledge
Map each week.
•Ask about the texts your child is
reading and what he or she has
learned from them.
•Share with your child your own
questions about the topic, and
work together to find the
answers.

 

Explore the Genre
The genre focus in this module is 
informational text. Discuss with 
your child the characteristics of  
this genre. 
Ask your child to read to you each 
day and make time to read 
together.   
Look for texts that
•spark your child’s curiosity
•tie to the module topic
•explore interesting scientific
facts and ideas
•have unique formats, graphic
features, and visual elements

 

Build Vocabulary
Use these ideas to help your child 
build a rich vocabulary. 
The Big Idea Reinforce the topic 
words notable, spontaneous, tremor, 
and hazard in everyday 
conversations with your child. Use 
prompts like these: What hazards 
do you avoid? Describe the last 
spontaneous thing you did.
What Does It Mean? Have your 
child keep a growing list of the 
Critical Vocabulary words. Quiz 
each other on their meanings.
Word Hunt Look for words with 
roots graph, gram, geo, rupt, fer; 
suffixes –logy/–logist; and prefixes 
inter–, com–/con–/cor– in books, 
magazines, online texts, and 
environmental print.