Dear Families, 
 
It has been a busy week around here! The weather kept us cooped up the first three days, but by Thursday we were able to spend a beautiful and chilly day at Lula Lake. We wound up the week with a visit to our school from artist and book illustrator Michael P. White. He kept the students totally engaged as he directed them on drawing a Pizza Python, a Chef Bear-Ar-Dee, and a lighthouse. They will hopefully share with you their renditions as well as more detail from the visit. 
 
Reading, writing, word study, and grammar lessons are rocking along. The study this week has been on making nouns plural and prepositions as a part of speech. There will be a test Monday on the rules associated with making nouns plural as well as a list of singular nouns the students will need to make plural. Hopefully they will have brought home the homework sheets to be used as review. 
 
Most students are completing books at a good rate which is one book every one and a half to two weeks. This pace is necessary in order to complete the 6-7 grade level books per nine weeks goal. Please try to monitor your child's progress in this area.  
 
As books are completed, a Book Quiz sheet is filled out which allows me to check student understanding of the book. It is always a good idea to spend some time after your child reads to talk about what they have read. 
 
Students are still working on their fictional narrative stories. As writers, we often get stuck at certain points in the story. Ask your child to share their story with you. You may be able to talk with them about the plot, or events, taking place in their story. Ask them about the characters in the story and what they have done to bring their characters alive for the reader. You can also ask what problem is in the story and how the characters will be solving the problem. What will their characters learn from the story?  
 
Wednesday, October 31st, is Biography Day so make sure your child has read a biography this month and is able to converse about the person they have read about. Our "Meet and Greet" will occur between 8:15-9:00. I want to thank Martha Wold for organizing doughnuts and juice for the event. It should be a fun way for us to share what we have learned about the interesting people we've read about. 
 
Take care & have a good weekend! 
 
Karen Persinger 
 
Karen Persinger