Week of January 9th

Happy Monday!
I hope you all had a restful weekend. I know it's going to feel good to have a full week of school with normal routines. Did you get a chance to read your child's Friday Journal? They were SO excited to write to you! I know they would appreciate a note or letter in return, but if you don't have time, a simple signature that you read the letter would be great.

Let's just dive right in with the goals and objectives for the week...

CHRISTIAN CHARACTER FORAMTION PROJECT

This week we will revisit the virtue RESPECT. Respect is God's power for you to honor Him and others. We'll read from Matthew 5:1-48 where Jesus had just selected His twelve disciples. He was now going to tell them, and the crowds who had gathered, what it would mean to be His followers and what to expect as they followed Him. Jesus showed His disciples—which includes us—how to love others and live as His blessed children. As you discuss this virtue with your child this week, ask yourselves the “big question:” How can a respectful, loving attitude bless you, God, and others?    

READING SKILLS and STRATEGIES
Retelling is great for sequencing skills and retaining information. Summarizing, on the other hand, challenges readers to focus on the big picture, paraphrase the author's words, and determine which events are the most important to the overall theme of the book. This week we will discuss the difference between the structures of a summary for fiction versus nonfiction. Before break we looked at fiction, and used the acronym S.W.B.S.T (Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then) to summarize story elements. As we read in nonfiction this week, we will discuss how those summaries include the main idea of the text and the most important ideas in our own words.

PHONICS and SPELLING

This week we will practice words with consonant digraph spelling patterns (th, sh, ch, tch).
LIST ONE

teeth	wishbone	matching	which	watch
each	teaching	path	fishing	dish

LIST TWO

teeth	wishbone	matching	which	watch
itch	latch	switch	cashed	sandwich

BONUS - persuade
GRAMMAR and WRITING

In grammar our focus will continue to be on verbs. The students will practice using the verb "have" and its form based on whether it is past or present tense. As always we will be reviewing all grammar skills during any daily writing. Great conversations can be had while browsing those Friday Journals!

Our next writing genre is going to be a hoot! It ties in perfectly with our study of Author's Purpose last week... It's persuasive writing! As your second grader learns about persuasive writing they will write opinion pieces in which they introduce a topic, state an opinion, and supply reasons that support their opinion. I can't wait to see what kind of opinions come from your sweet children!

NEWS and NOTES

• NO SCHOOL January 16th - Martin Luther King Jr Day
• National Lutheran Schools Week January 23-27 (be on the lookout for details
• FIELD TRIP January 30th - CPH (Concordia Publish House) and Global Foods
• January Reading logs are due Friday January 27th (or Monday January 30th if you need the weekend)
• NO SCHOOL February 13th and 14th - teacher professional development
• NO SCHOOL February 20th - Presidents' Day