Week 11: October 31st - November 4th

Parents,

Thank you for supporting our classes during Field Day. It was a fun filled day and we appreciate your added spirit.

Reminders for this week:

Mrs. Ramos spoke with students on Friday and told them about how children in her court celebrate adoption day.  She encouraged them to bring a stuffed animal from home to donate to children serviced in the courts.  Mrs. Ramos explained to us how this day becomes just as special as a birthday for many children.   This is often also the first toy the child will have ever received.  We appreciate any and all stuffed animal donations.. Donations due 11/4.  We love when the real world and our learning tie together.  This is a BEAUTIFUL real world example of what good citizens do- something we will study in Social Studies over the next few weeks.

- Friday, November 4th is a Noon Dismissal. Please remember to send a note with any change of transportation on that day. We will have an alternate schedule that day.

Reading: Good readers use context clues to help them make meaning of the words in the text.  This week we will work together in a variety of text to notice the many ways an author uses context clues to help readers make sense of the story. The example on the left shows you some of the things reader can use to help make meaning of new terms and vocabulary.  Be sure to talk to your reader about new, multilple meaning and difficult vocabulary words as they read at home each night.

Writing: We continue to analyze stories from our lives to make sure they are a story worth telling.  Stories worth telling follow the narrative structure.  We will read, summarize, analyze and determine theme for a few more stories this week.  Practicing storytelling at home can be a fun and meaningful way to connect learning at school to home.  This also helps when students move to write in workshop-- this way they have stories to pull from!

Spelling:  Continue to practice spelling words from last week at home.  At the beginning of this week, in class, teachers will be observing and assessing how students are able to apply spelling patterns in their work.  New spelling words will come home on November 2 and be assessed on November 9.

Social Studies: We've wrapped up our learning on early explorers and will spend the next few weeks thinking about what GOOD CITIZENS do! Good citizens work to make their communities a great place to be.  We will discuss many ideas over the next few weeks like-- voting, obeying laws, keeping promises, serving on a jury and volunteering.  

Students will have a chance to learn about why it is important for citizens to vote this week.  We hope to give them a small taste of what Election Day is like with our very own HCE favorite book election.  We will hear from people supporting both the candidates (book choices!).  Stay tuned, as November 9 we will learn which book of the month students have enjoyed most!

  

Math: In math this week, we will be finishing up our unit on subtraction. On Monday and Tuesday, we will walk through the steps for a two-step problems. Here is an example of a two-step problem that you can expect your child to see: There were a total of 689 fans who came to the first three basketball games. One hundred forty-two came to the first game and 136 came to the second game. How many fans came to the third game?

On Wednesday and Thursday, we will review all of our subtraction skills. On Friday, we will take our subtraction test. *SUBTRACTION TEST IS MOVED TO 11/7*

We will NOT have homework on Monday! Happy Halloween! On Tuesday, a worksheet will go home that reviews analog clocks. On Wednesday, a worksheet with subtraction practice will go home. Please study for fast facts on Friday. We will NOT have a Problem of the Week this week.

Science: During science this week, we will complete our discussion on Mixtures. Later in the week we will begin our unit on Energy. Energy is the ability to move and do work. We will review four forms of energy: sound, light, heat, and mechanical. We will begin with Mechanical Energy and discover that there are two types of Mechanical Energy: Potential and Kinetic. 

*mechanical energy- the energy of moving objects

*kinetic energy- the energy of motion

*potential energy- the stored energy or possible energy depending on its position

Week of October 17-21

Parent/Teacher Conferences are this week: October 19-21.  Use the links below to secure your spot.  We can't wait to celebrate the successes of your child and discuss their goals moving forward. Please remember that Thursday, October 20th and Friday, October 21st are early dismissal days. Students will be let out at 12:00 pm so please plan accordingly! 

• Rozzell/Scott               
• Badrak/Jackson
• Duncan/Ford

Please consider supporting Ms. Jackson’s flexible seating Donors Choose fund: Jackson

Reading: Readers will continue exploring theme in both familiar and non-familiar texts. Each day, we will focus on a new theme and brainstorm books that model each lesson. Themes/lessons we will focus on next week:

• Believing in yourself
• Being happy with what you have
• Accepting others' differences 
• Always acting kind to others

We will also spend time discussing and writing about the differences between plot and theme. We want our learners to be able to not only identify them, but to support it with text evidence. 

Writing: Writers will be introduced to new Stories From My Life (or SFML for short) this week to focus on our core questions with unfamiliar texts. We will work on concise retelling through Q1 (What is happening in this story?) and identifying theme/lesson through Q2 (What does this story mean?). Finally, we will map the story on the narrative arc to identify all of the important elements. Writers will continue exploring SFML narratives in their own writing.

Example Story Arc   

Spelling: Students will get new sorts/words on Wednesday, October 19th. The assessment on those words will be the following Wednesday, October 26th. Remember to utilize the at-home spelling practice if your child could benefit from additional practice at home.

Social Studies: We will continue our unit on famous explorers! We will finish our pop-up book with important facts about Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Lewis & Clark, and Christopher Columbus. Our students have loved learning the details of how these explorers have contributed to our nation and our world. 

Math: Last week we began our study of subtraction with simple subtraction without any regrouping and regrouping in the hundreds and thousands places. This week we will review and then begin to subtract over zeros where multiple regrouping is necessary. As they progress right to left from the ones place, to the tens, to the hundreds and then to the thousands, students have to continually ask themselves "Can I do that?" in order to assure that the top number take away the bottom number actually works. If not, then regrouping or borrowing has to be done. Many are familiar with the rhyme "More on the floor, go next door" as a way to help determine if regrouping is needed. In applying subtraction to everyday life, students will examine word problems and differentiate among the three types of subtraction. "Take away" subtraction is the one with which kids are most familiar. Given a total number of items, a part is taken away leaving a remaining part. "Compare" subtraction presents students with two numbers where they are to find the difference between them. Words such as "how many more", "how much longer", and "how many fewer" are our key to this kind of subtraction. Often times, the comparative or "er" form of an adjective is used, such as taller, heavier, shorter, and farther. The third kind, "Missing Part" subtraction, gives the student the total number of items and describes a part and then asks what the other part might be. Here are some examples:

Take away:  643 students attend Hunters Creek Elementary. If 97 students transfer to another school, how many students will remain at the school?   643 - 97 = _____

Compare:  HCE has 643 student and MDE only has 477. How many  more students does Hunters Creek have than Memorial Drive?   643 - 477 = _____

Missing Part:  Ms. Rozzell has 41 students in both Math classes. 17 of them are girls. How many boys are in her classes?     41 - 17 = _____ 

Whether your child is on addition, subtraction, or multiplication facts, always study daily for FFW and/or FFF. Addition and subtraction have an extra opportunity for success on Wednesday and will not have to study for a Friday quiz if they make a 90% or above mid week. There is a POW that is due on Friday. Please take this opportunity to work with your child and discuss strategies for finding a solution.

Science:  We wrap up our study of Matter this week with a review of vocabulary and concepts and a unit test on Wednesday. Students have had vocabulary cards and a study guide for almost two weeks and we hope they have reviewed them nightly. After parent conferences, we will take a look at mixtures and then it is on to an extensive study of the different kinds of energy around us.

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.  

February 29-March 4

Parent Reminders and Information: We have a busy week ahead!

Monday-Thursday of this week students may bring money to purchase tickets for the FAMILY FAIR raffle.  Students will have a chance to place their tickets in containers for a chance to win a prize.  Prizes announced and sent home on Friday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week students will take the Math and Reading Practice STAAR tests.  Students can expect to see many concepts which have been covered this year and preview a few concepts upcoming in our lesson plans.  We will NOT look at students overall test scores on these practice tests, but will reflect on which concepts students know well and which areas still need classroom reinforcement and instruction. There are 40 days of instruction that remain before the real STAAR tests given on May 9 and May 10. The practice tests will give teachers diagnostic information to help guide our upcoming instruction both in large and small groups.

Wednesday HCE will also celebrate READ ACROSS AMERICA day as we celebrate the life and work of Theodore Geisel, Dr. Seuss.  Our fifth grade students will be presenting projects and reading stories from this beloved author.

Thursday notes are due if you are going to change your child’s transportation for FAMILY FAIR.  Complete  THIS FORM  and return it to your child's homeroom teacher by March 3rd.  We will not be able to make changes the day of the Family Fair.  

Friday We will work to have a normal day of instruction. Raffle winners will be announced.  Forms turned in on Thursday, March 3rd will guide our dismissal for this day.  Family fair will be on the HCE field from 3p.m.-6p.m. :)   

Language Arts

Reading- We will finish our work determining importance in non fiction.  Students will use their notes of interesting vs important facts to create focused summaries on their reading.

Writing- Students have been doing a SUPER job finalizing their narratives or stories from my life.  This week, we will practice giving and receiving feedback from others to make sure that our stories reach all readers.

Spelling/Word Work- Due to PSTAAR on Wednesday, our spelling tests this week will be on THURSDAY, March 3.  We will take spelling application grades March 4-11.

Social Studies-   Students will work to create their Social Studies project for this 9 weeks, a flip book on INVENTORS and SCIENTISTS.  This project will be completed in class and shared with you at Publisher's Picnic!   Students always work extra hard when they know their audience and stage is publisher's picnic.  I can't wait to read their reflections on these peoples work; Jonas Salk, Maria Mitchell, Cyrus McCormick, Bill Gates, and Louis Pasteur.

Math- In math this week, we will begin our unit on Fractions. We finished graphing on Friday. On Thursday, we will dive into unit fractions and on Friday we will begin learning about non unit fractions. Due to Practice STAAR, the only homework for math this week will be to study fast facts. My hope is to see every student pass the Fast Facts Quiz they are on. We have many who have made their way through multiplication and they are on to division. Keep up the great work! 

Science- During our science time this week, we will discuss fossil fuels and learn how they help us generate electricity. We will review a diagram of a power plant and discuss the stages of generating electricity. 

If you plan to visit your child at lunch, please note the change in lunch times:
Monday and Friday: 12:00 - 12:30
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 12:40 - 1:10

We encourage parents and families to save the date and join the third grade team from 6-7p.m. on Wednesday, March 30^th for our STAAR Night in the HCE Library.  During this time, we will discuss:

·         The purpose of the test and its results

·         Level of Expectation on each test using sample questions

·         Strategies being taught in the classroom

·         How to support your child at home

·         General Information about the test itself including:

a.    Schedule: Dates/Times

b.    Format of the test

c.    Timeline for results

We will close the time together with a Q&A session for parents and families. We appreciate your support at home as, together, we continue to build strong mathematicians and readers.