CLNL+December+2011

**Olga Iris Guzmán - Principal**  **-**
 * = **Public School 228 Queens**
 * Early Childhood Magnet School of the Arts**
 * 32-65 93rd Street**
 * East Elmhurst, N.Y. 11369**
 * (718) 899-5799 • Fax (718) 899-7323**


 * “The Little School with a Heart”**

= = ||
 * Diana Rodriguez –Assistant Principal I.A.**

|| ** Winter **  ||
 * Parent Curriculum Newsletter **
 * ** December 2012 ISSUE **


 * == **PreK** == || **//__ READING __://** **Winter, spring, summer, fall! Pre-K will be studying the seasons of the year during the month of December. Each season offers something new and special. We will be reading books and poems and singing songs about the seasons. We will also continue to develop language as we respond to questions, as well as develop print awareness as we review concepts such as where we start reading on a page and how we read from left to right.**
 * //__ WRITING __:// The children’s handwriting skills have been improving as they sign in each day. The children also develop writing skills as teachers model writing for them. We have also been reviewing the vowels and the letters of the alphabet.**
 * //__ MUSIC __:// We will be singing our seasons theme song, along with traditional holiday songs such as The Dreidel Song and Jingle Bells.**
 * //__ MATH __//: Math skills will include learning about order (first, second, last and next) as well as recognizing numbers in our environment. The children will also practice counting to ten and learn how to create sets of ten.**
 * //__ TECHNOLOGY: __// The PreK children work on developing their literacy skills on starfall.com. You can download this website on your home computer. There are lots of holiday games to play during this time of year!**
 * //__ Social studies/science :__// What is the weather like during each season? What do children do to stay warm during the winter. How do we dress for cold weather? Can you get dressed all by yourself? Do you know the names of the different clothes we wear on cold days? We will also introduce the children to the different holidays celebrated in December: Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa and Las Posadas.**
 * //__ PHYSICAL ED. & HEALTH __:// The children get their daily exercise by playing games around the carpet. Games include London Bridge, Shake Your Sillies Out, Hokey Pokey and marching games.** ||


 * == **Kindergarten** == || **//__ READING __//****// : // Unit: __Readers Use All Their Powers to Read Everything They Can__**
 * This month we will combine the skills we have learned and practiced during readers workshop and take our first steps towards becoming stronger readers. We will continue to look closely at the pictures, but now we will work on reading the words to our stories as well.**
 * //__ WRITING __//****// : // Unit – Small Moments -** **This month, we will return to personal narrative writing. This time around, we will learn how to write stories that are more focused by zooming in on a small moment. We will also remember to write these small moment stories including many, many details.**
 * //__ Music: __//****We will sing songs about the winter season and December holidays. The composer of the month is Tchaikovsky and the music will be The Nutcracker. We will continue to explore a variety of instruments and rhythms. Listen and move activities will incorporate movement and enhance listening skills.**
 * //__ MATH __//**** : We will continue to explore addition and subtraction concepts through games. We will learn about measuring weight and continue to explore patterns.**
 * //__ SCIENCE __//****// : //** **How do we describe objects that we observe using ou 5 senses?**
 * //__ Social STUDIES __//**** : We will learn about community helpers and the services they provide. We will also explore the three types of communities: the city, suburbs, and community and the ways in which different communities celebrate special days and events.**
 * //__ TECHNOLOGY __//****: We will continue to work on Razkids to develop our literacy skills. SMARTBOARDS will continue to be integrated in classroom activities to reinforce skills in sight word recognition, writing, and math concepts.**
 * //__ library __//****: Kindergarten will learn how the alphabet helps us find books in the library.**
 * //__ PHYSYCAL ED. & HEALTH __//****__ : __** **We will learn seasonal songs, rhymes, and chants and integrate them as we participate in physical activities to develop gross motor skills. We will also discuss the proper way to dress during the upcoming winter months.** ||


 * == **First Grade** == || **//__ READING: __// Good readers continue learning about the world around them through Informational Texts that will teach them about the world we live in.**
 * //__ WRITING: __// We continue working on our All About books in writing to complete our First Literacy Task about Frogs.**
 * //__ Music: __//****Song will be Jingle Bells. On the xylophones will be Jingle Bells. The composer will be Tchaikovsky and the music will be the Nutcracker, and the 1812 Overture.**
 * //__ MATH __//**//__ : __// **We learn about non-standard and standard measurement using feet, hands and inches. We also practice addition facts from 1-20.**
 * //__ SCIENCE: __// How do animals grow and change? What are some life cycles of mammals and egg-laying animals?**
 * //__ SOCIAL STUDIES: __// We learn about holidays celebrated by different families and discuss how families share a cultural heritage through songs, dances and foods.**
 * //__ TECHNOLOGY: __// We practice typing our own written stories using Microsoft Word and learn how to change the font and size to publish our typed work.**
 * //__ library __//****: First Grade will learn that books are found on library shelves by authors last name in alphabetical order.**
 * //__ PHYSYCAL ED. & HEALTH: __// We learn how to understand the relationship between physical activity and inactivity and why movement is important to our health.** ||


 * == **Second Grade** == || **//__ Reading: __//** ** Unit 4: Non-fiction (Informational Text) **
 * We will continue working in our Nonfiction unit, this month we will focus on developing grade –level strategies to enhance the children’s understanding of expository text. **
 * //__ Writing: __//** ** Unit 4: Non-fiction (Expert Projects) **
 * Students will continue writing about their topics of interest and they will also learn and explore more about these topics by researching books, Internet and other sources to answer questions they have. At the end of the unit, students will complete the task included in the reading and writing units. This task asks each student to write an informational text about a subject on which he or she has already developed expertise. **
 * //__ MUSIC: __//****Song will be Jingle Bells and on the recorders, it will also be Jingle Bells.**
 * //__ Mathematics: __//** ** In Unit 4, addition and subtraction number stories are used as a vehicle for developing mental arithmetic skills. The unit ends with work on pencil-and-paper strategies. **
 * __ Objectives: __**
 * ** To solve number stories (word problems) **
 * ** To read and show temperatures **
 * ** To develop different strategies for adding 2-and 3- digit numbers. **
 * //__ SCIENCE: __// What changes the earth? How do wind, water, people and animals change the surface of the Earth? How can we take care of the Earth?**
 * //__ Social Studies: __//**
 * This unit introduces children to the concept of caring for Earth’s natural resources—its land, water, air, and plants. **
 * __ Unit 2 Objectives __**** : Our Earth (Part I) **
 * ** Interview with a Geographer—Map and globe skills **
 * ** Where People Live—Then and Now **
 * // We will also discuss the following topics this month: //**
 * **// Winter Holidays: Hanukkah, Kwanza, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. //**
 * //__ Technology: __//**
 * Students will continue practicing their reading skills by using Raz-kids.com and math skills by playing Everyday Math games. They will also use the classroom Smartboard to play spelling and other vocabulary related activities. **
 * //__ library __//****:** **Second Grade will correctly arrange fiction and non-fiction books according to their spine label.**
 * //__ Physical Education __//**
 * Students will understand the effects of activity on the body, the risks associated with inactivity, and the basic components of health-related fitness (cardiovascular, muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility, and body composition). ** ||


 * WE ARE DEDICATED TO THE SUCCESS OF ALL OUR CHILDREN. **


 * Please note that you may find the Parent Curriculum Newsletter at ps__228q.wikispaces.com__ every month.**