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Weekly News
March 10-13
ELA
Last week students finished their book reviews of Peter Pan. This week they will choose a scene in Peter Pan that they think deserves to be revised. They will revise that scene, including dialogue, and prepare for a presentation. As always, a model will be closely analyzed so students will know exactly what is expected of them. Encourage your child to tell you about the model revised scene.
Math
We are well into our fractions unit as you can tell by the homework. This week, we will focus on improper fractions, mixed numbers, and identifying equivalent fractions. We will use number lines, area models, and fraction bars as visual examples throughout this unit. Please ask your child for an example of each! They should be able to do this on their own.
February 24-28
ELA- Students started a new Peter Pan text also written by J.M. Barrie called Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Each day we will read a chapter in each Peter Pan text and compare similarities and differences. Also, as we approach the end of Peter Pan, we will discuss the central message of the novel. At the end of the week, students will analyze a book review of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and use this model to begin their own book review of Peter Pan.
Math- We will wrap up area and perimeter Monday and begin our Fractions unit by identifying unit fractions, viewing fractions as area models, and length models, and partitioning a whole into equal parts and describe the visual model as a fraction.
February 3-7
ELA- We are 4 chapters in to Peter Pan! This week we will read chapters 5-9. Students will identify character traits of the main characters in the novel and compare their point of view to that of the characters.
Math- We will begin our area and perimeter unit on Monday. Students will be able to find the area of rectangular figures using manipulatives and then make the connection between these models and multiplication/addition. They will also explore the idea that rectangles can have the same area but different perimeters. Lastly, they will decompose a rectangle into two smaller rectangles, find the area of each, then add to determine the area of the larger rectangle.
January 27-31
ELA- We will begin our new module focusing on the literary classic, Peter Pan. Students will read an adaptation of this novel by Tania Zamorsky. This week we will work on recounting the events in a chapter and explaining how these events build upon the events in the previous chapter. We will also explain how an illustration contributes to the text. We will read a text which explains the historical context of this novel as well.
Math- This week we will continue with our Geometry unit by categorizing, drawing, and labeling shapes based on their attributes. Students will also investigate and describe characteristics of triangles and quadrilaterals. We will end the week with our Geometry assessment on Friday.
In Social Studies we will begin our Economics unit.
December 16-20
ELA- Students will work on finishing their 4 paragraph essays on the behavioral and physical adaptations of their chosen frog. We will then make Freaky Frog trading cards based on their research.
Math- We are a few lessons into our Geometry unit. This week students will classify shapes based on shared attributes.
December 9-13
On Thursday, I will have a substitute in the classroom while I pull students out in small groups to complete I-Station reading assessments. These will be done using Chromebooks.
ELA- We will choose a frog and conduct further research, take notes, and draft a 4 paragraph essay on this frog and it's unique adaptations. Each step of the process will be modeled, it is important students pay attention so they know what to do for the independent phase of writing their essay.
Math- We will wrap up Unit 4 on Tuesday with an assessment then head straight into Unit 5 (Geometry).
December 2-7
Math- We will work on two step multiplication and division problems as we wrap up our unit this week.
ELA- Students will have an assessment on Monday then we'll head into researching frog adaptations and write about how where a frog lives affects how it looks and/or acts. Students will also study the structures of texts. Most non fiction texts follow a structure and understanding it and identifying it greatly increases comprehension. This week we will look at cause/effect, problem/solution, description, sequence/chronological order, and compare/contrast.
November 18-22
ELA- Students will move on to work with non fiction text features. We will use the book Everything You Need to Know About Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures to study text features and the information they contain.
Math- We will work on our 8's and 9's fluency by solving word problems. Thursday and Friday students will work on an end of unit 4 performance task!
November 12- 16
ELA- Students will finish their own pourquois tale and share it with the class. On Thursday students will write a second pourquois tale as an assessment.
Math- Students will use the Associative Property and the Distributive property to solve multiplication problems. We will also work on mixed story problems using multiplication and division.
October 28- November 1
ELA- Students will study pourquois tales and as a class we will write one. Students will need to pay close attention as they will then write their own.
Math- We will continue to work on two step word problems and have our assessment on Tuesday. Students will participate in a Battle of the Strategies as an end of unit performance task and choose a strategy to defend as the best one. We will move into Unit 4 on Wednesday. This unit will cycle back to multiplication and division.
October 22-25
WELCOME BACK!
ELA- We will start our new module for quarter 2 on Tuesday. We will use adaptations and the wide world of frogs to explore many English/Language Arts topics. We will start with analyzing the structure of a pourquoi tale and use this structure to write our own tales. Pourquoi tales are tales that explain why something in nature happens or behaves in a certain way.
Math- We will work on wrapping up our addition and subtraction strategies unit by focusing on multi step word problems.
September 16-20
ELA- Students have identified two reading challenges they face and strategies to use to help overcome those challenges. This week, they will focus on writing a 4 paragraph essay outlining the challenges and strategies. This exercise is heavily scaffolded and if students use the model and color coded notes, they will be successful.
Math- We will move onto two more addition and subtraction strategies; expanded form and number line. Students will spend time practicing both strategies and focus on accuracy.
September 3-6
ELA- This week students will read about other students that have learning challenges. They will decide (with teacher help) what some of their reading challenges are and use these to write a contract.
Math- We will wrap up our short data (graphing ) unit on Thursday with a brief assessment. Friday we will begin our addition and subtraction unit by learning the place value drawing strategy.
August 26-30
ELA- This week students will read closely about how students in Finland, Zimbabwe, or Thailand face challenges accessing books. They will use the information to compose a one paragraph essay explaining the challenges and how they are overcome. This will be modeled step by step so it is critical students follow along. They will then meet in partners to critique their paragraphs for organization and purpose. Early next week they will apply the skills learned this week and write a paragraph on their own for a grade.
Math- We will end our multiplication unit on Monday with an assessment and then move right into our data or graphing unit. This week students will learn about scale, labeling each axis, and gathering data.
August 12-16
A few reminders for this week;
1. BOG is Tuesday, August 13
2. Open House is Tuesday, August 13 6-7:30. There will be two sessions. See school website for details.
3. Picture day is Thursday, August 15.
ELA- This week students will closely read Nasreen's Secret School and write a short constructed response describing the central message of the story and how the details show this message. Then, students will take an assessment on Friday, practicing the strategies we have focused on these first 3 weeks.
Math- We will continue our work with multiplication by solving word problems by using a visual model. We will also work in providing multiple factors when given a product.
August 5-9
We had a nice first week!
Here is where you can see a quick summary of what we will learn in each subject for the current week.
ELA- Last week we started reading about children around the world and the challenges they face accessing books and education. We will continue this week by reading Rain School and Nasreen's Secret School. We will work on the gist, message, and how the author conveys that message through the details. Students will also follow our discussion norms and participate in a small group discussion.
Math- This week we will relate repeated addition to multiplication, use arrays to model multiplication, and use multiplication to solve and write word problems.
Social Studies- We will learn the 3 branches of government and start learning some of the services the local government provides to it's citizens.
Science- Changes in matter