LA/SS 4/26-5/6

REMINDERS- WITS Anthology Celebration is Wednesday, May4.  Mrs. Duncan’s homeroom class will celebrate and share from 10-11am in Mrs. Ford’s Classroom.  Mrs. Ford’s homeroom class will celebrate and share from 1-2p.m. in Mrs. Ford’s Classroom.  Parents and family members are welcome to join us for an exciting hour of readings, reflections and fun.  If you would like to contribute to our “THANK YOU” gift to our WITS instructor, Carolyn Bolton, please send $1.00 with your child to school by Friday, April 29.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Reading- This week we will wrap up our review of poetry.  Next week, students will work through a synthesizing menu to apply the reading skills and strategies we have learned this year.  Readers synthesize when they take information they know, strategies that support their reading and actively monitor and change their thinking while reading.

Writing- Students have done a terrific job of finishing up our criteria charts for a story from our life.  This week I will model the steps a writer goes through when trying to create an INCREDIBLE story from my life.  As I model, students will have a chance to reflect and respond to my choices in hopes to help them make great choices when they launch their own story.  Next week, students will begin the writing process and proceed at the pace that works best for them.  I can’t wait to hear and read some excellent stories!

Word Work- New words will come home 4/27.  A spelling test will be given on 5/4.  An application grade of those words will be taken 5/4-5/11.

SOCIAL STUDIES

If you haven’t caught an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank, I hope you will.  Below you will find a short clip of some of the most famous Shark Tank Jr. competitors.  Students will work in group over the next two weeks to complete and compete in a Shark Tank Jr. Challenge.  Today they met in their groups to start thinking about problems kids face and how they might offer and create a creative solution that could turn into a business opportunity!

MATH
In math this week, we will continue to review all of our math concepts from the entire school year. We will spend a day reviewing addition, subtraction, place value, and estimation. On Wednesday, we will review the different types of graphs we have learned this year. On Thursday and Friday, we will do a review circuit. We will have a POTW due on Friday and a Fast Facts quiz on Friday. The homework this week is all review. Your child will have 3-4 problems each night. Please make sure your child is doing their homework so they are getting extra review before STAAR next Monday.

SCIENCE
During our science time this week, we will review mass, weight, and capacity. These concepts are used in science and math. We will also practice using a ruler as we prepare for the Math STAAR.

4/25 - 4/29

Week of 4/25 - 4/29

Reminders for this week:
- Progress Reports go home on Tuesday
- Kona Ice Party on Friday during school

Math: On Monday, we will work on finding patterns on a number line. For the next two weeks we will be in our STAAR Camp! The Math STAAR is on Monday, May 9th. During these weeks, we will review all of the skills that we have learned this school year. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will be working on 2D, 3D, symmetry and congruent figures. On Thursday, we will spend the day working on multiplication and division. On Friday, we will review time, temperature, money, area, and perimeter. We will have a POTW this week and a fast facts quiz on Friday. The homework this week will be a mixed review of money, subtraction, addition, and patterns.

Science: The solar system test will be on Tuesday. On Monday, we will review for the test. The rest of the week, we will practice finding temperature and understanding capacity.

4/18 - 4/22

We hope that you enjoy the LONG weekend! 
REMINDERS:Scholastic book orders may be made online or you may send back the paper order with a check.  Please have April book orders turned in by Friday, April 22. PLEASE NOTE A CHANGE IN ASSESSMENT DATES.


LANGUAGE ARTS
READING- April is poetry month.  We will review poetry vocabulary and types of poems this week.  I'll be pulling small groups based on the two selection practice your child did in class last week.  Look for those to come home in the Tuesday Newsday folder.  This can serve for a great spring board for conversation at home about books and news. We will not send home a reading selection for homework this week due to the short school week.

WRITING- We will finish our criteria chart this week for what makes an INCREDIBLE story from my life.  The last few weeks of school we will spend walking ourselves through the writing process and producing and sharing stories from our lives.  Helping your child reflect on experiences or even say, "Hey, you should write that as one of your stories in school." could serve as great help when writer's are trying to get started during the process.

SPELLING- Words went home last week.  Spelling Test, Thursday 4/21.  Application grade 4/22-4/27.


SOCIAL STUDIES- Economic review sheets went home last Thursday. Our test will be Friday, April 22.  Remember to have your child use his or her log in on studiesweekly.com to review and preview concepts.  Our economics unit covers weeks 19-23. 


Math: In math this week, we will be discussing coins, bills, personal financial literacy, and patterns that can be found on a number line. As we review time and we begin reviewing money, I encourage you to talk with your children at home about these topics. It is important for your children to practice saying the time and reading a clock. Even with our short week, we will have three nights of homework. The homework this week will be a review on graphing, time, and money. Please encourage your child to do their homework and not use a homework pass. As we get into STAAR mode, we are sending work to help review and it is important for your child to continue to practice. We will have a problem of the week this week and a fast facts quiz on Friday. Please study the multiplication facts nightly. Your child needs to complete all of their multiplication facts before they leave third grade. Please check their progress on their multiplication checklist located in their green binder.

Science: In science this week, we will begin discussing the planets in our solar system. We will learn the order off the planets. We will use the mnemonic device - My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos- to help us remember the planets in order. Your child will also have an opportunity to create their own mnemonic device.

***UPDATE - The Solar System test will be on Tuesday, April 26th***

4/11 - 4/15

Update for Week of April 11th - 15th

MATH: In math this week, we will continue learning about 3D shapes. We will work to classify our 3D shapes by prisms, pyramids, and curved surfaces. Another way we will learn about our shapes is by their faces, vertices, and edges. Please continue to review these at home. Flashcards went home on Tuesday. This Tuesday, your child will be quizzed on identifying the 3D shapes. We will continue to practice in class. The rest of the week, we will be discussing time. We will spend Wednesday reviewing time by the hour and minute. On Thursday and Friday, we will learn two different strategies for figuring out elapsed time. Your child will be given a start time and end time and they will learn to find the about of time that has passed. The homework for this week will be a review of 2D and 3D shapes, symmetry, and congruence. You can also expected a homework reviewing graphing. As we get into the STAAR season, we are encouraging your children to not use homework passes, but rather complete the homework as it is an important review. The fast facts quiz will be on Friday and the problem of the week will be due on Friday.

SCIENCE: During our science time we will start learning about the moon. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will be discussing the relationship between the sun, moon, and Earth. Towards the end of our week, we will learn about the planets. As we are studying the planets, we will learn the order and the important characteristics of each.

4/4-4/8

REMINDERS:
NOON DISMISSAL on Thursday, April 7 and Friday, April 8.  If you will need to change your child's transportation those two days, please send a handwritten note each day.  Thanks!

LANGUAGE ARTS
READING- Author's Purpose will be our work this week.  We will discuss how Author's Purpose can be as easy as PIE (Persuade, Inform, Entertain).  Around the table at home, discuss things you have read or seen on TV and what the purpose might be for those texts.  You can also check out the sites listed on Language Arts Websites and scroll down until you see Author's Purpose.
WRITING- Studies engaged in great discussion last week as they read other people's narratives and decided if they were good or bad examples.  We learned that text structure can really make or break a story.  This week, we will create a class critera chart for a good narrative and begin making some of our own.
SPELLING- Words went home last week.  Spelling Test 4/6.  Application grade 4/7-4/12.

SOCIAL STUDIES- We are knee deep in economics.  A few of our new concepts and vocabulary words are free enterprise, consumers, supply, demand, budget, wants, needs, spending and saving.  Remember to have your child use his or her log in on studiesweekly.com to review and preview concepts.  Our economics unit covers weeks 19-23.

MATH-On Monday, we talking about congruent figures and we learned that congruent figures must be the same size and the same shape. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will be learning about 3D Shapes. We will classify the shapes on Tuesday by curved surfaces, prisms, and pyramids. On Wednesday, we will learn about faces, vertices, and edges.

This is how we identify faces, vertices, and edges

Prisms and Pyramids 

Curved Surfaces 

On Thursday and Friday, we will be discussing lines of symmetry. On Thursday, we will learn about shapes with just one line of symmetry. On Friday, our students will work with shapes that have more than one line of symmetry. 

This week, your child will have review homework for area, perimeter, and a mixed review. The problem of the week will be due on Friday and the fast facts quiz will be taken on Friday. On Thursday, your child will be quizzed over 2D shapes. In class each day, we will review the 2D shapes with a game. Please spend time at home learning about these polygons. 

SCIENCE- In Science, we are starting our space unit!  The kids love this time of year!  In the beginning of the week we will study the sun and all its wonder.  The kids will discover these very important facts:

1. The sun is only a medium sized star.

2. The sun looks so big because its our closest star.

3. Other stars look so small because they are so far away.

4. The sun is made of hydrogen and helium.

5. The temperatures of the inner core and surface of the sun.

6. The sun is 4.6 billion years old and halfway through its life.

7. The sun gives us heat and light.

8. The sun drives the water cycle.

9. The sun gives us gravity and keeps us and all the other planets in orbit.  

Tuesday and Wednesday we will learn about the moon.  The last part of the week we will discover the intricate relationship of the sun, moon, and earth.