February 9th, 2018
Good Evening parents/guardians!
I hope you have all enjoyed your weekend and time with loved ones! This past week was full of learning and growing as scholars! It was nice to have a test-free week and get back into a normal routine. Your scholar’s report cards for Quarter 2 went home with them on Friday. Inside the envelope was a copy of the report card, a testing data sheet, and the yellow acknowledgment card. This yellow card and the envelope are the only items that need to be returned to me, with a parent or guardian signature.
With Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, many scholars have questioned if there will be a party. While we will not be holding a class party, scholars are more than welcome to bring in Valentine’s treats to pass out to the class. We have 23 scholars in our classroom and I would be more than glad to supply a list of the scholar’s names if needed.
Please take advantage of having access to PowerSchool and check your scholar’s grades often. This helps hold them accountable and keeps you up to date on their progress! To log into PowerSchool, you can use your scholar’s login information or get a parent login from the school office.
Important Dates:
February 15th: 2017-2018 Classroom Group Pictures
February 15th: RCE Basketball Game at Home (4:30pm)
February 19th: Snow Day #2 Make-Up
February 22nd: RCE Basketball Game at Home (4:30pm)
February 24th: International Festival (11:00am-2:00pm)
February 26th: Book Fair Begins
February 27th: 3rd Quarter Progress Reports Sent Home
Here is a recap of what we engaged in this past week of school, as well as what we will be starting to learn next week!
Math:
This past week we continued to work on dividing fractions. We looked at dividing whole numbers by fractions, fractions by whole numbers, and discussed fractions by fractions. We used models to represent our quotients, and learned how to write equations for our EOG –like word problems that we used to solve for the answer. We also resumed math stations and weekly standard mastery quizzes. Our first standard we have revisited is adding and subtracting fractions.
This upcoming week we will start by taking an assessment on line plots and dividing fractions. We will then start our unit on volume and measurement.
Science:
This past week we finished our unit on Ecosystems. We spent a majority of the week reviewing our notes and practicing EOG-like problems. The scholars then took the End of Unit assessment on Friday and all of the scholars did exceptionally well! The test score slips were stapled in your scholar’s agenda on Friday.
This upcoming week we will begin our unit of study on Cells. We will spend approximately two weeks studying multicellular and unicellular organisms. In lieu of the Africa project your scholars are completing for the International Festival, they will not be assigned a vocabulary book for Cells. The Africa project is due on February 20th and will be recorded as a formal grade.
Reading:
Most, if not all, Block 1 literature circle groups were able to finalize their historical book discussions and are ready (and excited) to move on to the next book. Block 2 has been moving through Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and only has 3 chapters left. In Block 1, we finished our read aloud book,Woods Runner, and will begin a new book next week. Block 2 is getting close to the end and should finish this coming week.
We researched the roles and rules of the time period in which each book takes place, paying close attention to the roles of the groups represented in our stories (children, women, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, etc.). We then used that information to better understand and analyze why the characters in the story acted or reacted throughout the story.
Scholars have been working hard on their assigned International Festival Projects to work on. We will have 8 completed projects, each representing a different African country, when the project is completed. Scholars are researching the climate, physical features, population and economy, cultures, languages and tribes, and important people of each country. The end product will be a slide show presentation of each country.
As we begin reading our new Historical Fiction books, we will be discussing point of view and perspective. We will look at scenes from the book from different perspectives and other characters’ points of view. During Close Reading, we will focus on relationships between events or ideas. We will do this by discussing cause and effect and understanding why one event may cause another to happen.
Scholars will continue to work on their assigned International Festival Projects. The end product will be a slide show presentation of each country. We hope you are able to join us at the International Festival on February 24 to view your scholar’s final product.
Reading homework: Please have your child read 30 minutes (or more) each night and log the title of the book read and number of pages read into his/her agenda daily. This provides us with a record of your scholar’s reading so we can ensure he/she is reading “just right” books at an appropriate speed. Looking for ways to help your child with his/her reading homework? Please click here to view questions you can be asking your child about his/her book to check for understanding. Our focus this week is on RI 5.3 and RI 5.6.
Social Studies:
Scholars began looking at the thirteen colonies, understanding that they were categorized into regions. They were able to work in groups to read about and take notes on the colony assigned to them.
Scholars will compare the colonies by examining the three colonial regions. We will identify the unique characteristics of each region by looking at the types of people, geographies, and economies each region had to offer. We will then discuss the differences between the colonies in each region by identifying the different types of governments.
Writing:
Scholars planned the setting of their historical fiction stories by thinking about how different settings would affect the story. Scholars then began drafting their stories, using the rubric as a guide.
Scholars will continue to draft their historical fiction stories by using the rubric as a guide.
I hope you have all enjoyed your weekend and time with loved ones! This past week was full of learning and growing as scholars! It was nice to have a test-free week and get back into a normal routine. Your scholar’s report cards for Quarter 2 went home with them on Friday. Inside the envelope was a copy of the report card, a testing data sheet, and the yellow acknowledgment card. This yellow card and the envelope are the only items that need to be returned to me, with a parent or guardian signature.
With Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, many scholars have questioned if there will be a party. While we will not be holding a class party, scholars are more than welcome to bring in Valentine’s treats to pass out to the class. We have 23 scholars in our classroom and I would be more than glad to supply a list of the scholar’s names if needed.
Please take advantage of having access to PowerSchool and check your scholar’s grades often. This helps hold them accountable and keeps you up to date on their progress! To log into PowerSchool, you can use your scholar’s login information or get a parent login from the school office.
Important Dates:
February 15th: 2017-2018 Classroom Group Pictures
February 15th: RCE Basketball Game at Home (4:30pm)
February 19th: Snow Day #2 Make-Up
February 22nd: RCE Basketball Game at Home (4:30pm)
February 24th: International Festival (11:00am-2:00pm)
February 26th: Book Fair Begins
February 27th: 3rd Quarter Progress Reports Sent Home
Here is a recap of what we engaged in this past week of school, as well as what we will be starting to learn next week!
Math:
This past week we continued to work on dividing fractions. We looked at dividing whole numbers by fractions, fractions by whole numbers, and discussed fractions by fractions. We used models to represent our quotients, and learned how to write equations for our EOG –like word problems that we used to solve for the answer. We also resumed math stations and weekly standard mastery quizzes. Our first standard we have revisited is adding and subtracting fractions.
This upcoming week we will start by taking an assessment on line plots and dividing fractions. We will then start our unit on volume and measurement.
Science:
This past week we finished our unit on Ecosystems. We spent a majority of the week reviewing our notes and practicing EOG-like problems. The scholars then took the End of Unit assessment on Friday and all of the scholars did exceptionally well! The test score slips were stapled in your scholar’s agenda on Friday.
This upcoming week we will begin our unit of study on Cells. We will spend approximately two weeks studying multicellular and unicellular organisms. In lieu of the Africa project your scholars are completing for the International Festival, they will not be assigned a vocabulary book for Cells. The Africa project is due on February 20th and will be recorded as a formal grade.
Reading:
Most, if not all, Block 1 literature circle groups were able to finalize their historical book discussions and are ready (and excited) to move on to the next book. Block 2 has been moving through Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and only has 3 chapters left. In Block 1, we finished our read aloud book,Woods Runner, and will begin a new book next week. Block 2 is getting close to the end and should finish this coming week.
We researched the roles and rules of the time period in which each book takes place, paying close attention to the roles of the groups represented in our stories (children, women, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, etc.). We then used that information to better understand and analyze why the characters in the story acted or reacted throughout the story.
Scholars have been working hard on their assigned International Festival Projects to work on. We will have 8 completed projects, each representing a different African country, when the project is completed. Scholars are researching the climate, physical features, population and economy, cultures, languages and tribes, and important people of each country. The end product will be a slide show presentation of each country.
As we begin reading our new Historical Fiction books, we will be discussing point of view and perspective. We will look at scenes from the book from different perspectives and other characters’ points of view. During Close Reading, we will focus on relationships between events or ideas. We will do this by discussing cause and effect and understanding why one event may cause another to happen.
Scholars will continue to work on their assigned International Festival Projects. The end product will be a slide show presentation of each country. We hope you are able to join us at the International Festival on February 24 to view your scholar’s final product.
Reading homework: Please have your child read 30 minutes (or more) each night and log the title of the book read and number of pages read into his/her agenda daily. This provides us with a record of your scholar’s reading so we can ensure he/she is reading “just right” books at an appropriate speed. Looking for ways to help your child with his/her reading homework? Please click here to view questions you can be asking your child about his/her book to check for understanding. Our focus this week is on RI 5.3 and RI 5.6.
Social Studies:
Scholars began looking at the thirteen colonies, understanding that they were categorized into regions. They were able to work in groups to read about and take notes on the colony assigned to them.
Scholars will compare the colonies by examining the three colonial regions. We will identify the unique characteristics of each region by looking at the types of people, geographies, and economies each region had to offer. We will then discuss the differences between the colonies in each region by identifying the different types of governments.
Writing:
Scholars planned the setting of their historical fiction stories by thinking about how different settings would affect the story. Scholars then began drafting their stories, using the rubric as a guide.
Scholars will continue to draft their historical fiction stories by using the rubric as a guide.