Sunday, October 28, 2018

5-2 Updates ~ 10/28/18


Hello 5-2 Parents ~


Shout out to our room reps for putting so much energy into planning an amazing Halloween party for your children - Claudia Melachrinakis, Sophie Gryfakis, and Amy Duffey!!  They've worked so hard to make sure your kids will enjoy their afternoon :)  Be sure to thank them when you see them!


Important Dates
Halloween Parade & Party ~ Wednesday, October 31st ~ 1:10pm.  The kiddos are getting excited for our Halloween celebration Wednesday afternoon!  Our Annual Halloween Parade begins at 1:30pm, with the party immediately following.  It looks like we may have some beautiful weather for the parade ~ yay!  We look forward to seeing many you all along the route!  Please refer to the Olive Blog for more information on rain plans, as well as Halloween costume expectations.

Progress Reports ~ Friday, November 16th.  Progress reports will be shared electronically this year - more information to follow!  


Math
We continue our work on adding and subtracting fractions in chapter 3.  Converting fractions to like denominators is challenging for many of your children, but their diligent practice is beginning to pay off!  Keep practicing these skills at home, and encourage your children to watch online videos and practice skills on Khan Academy.  The Chapter 3 Assessment is currently scheduled for Thursday, November 8th, but may change as we move through this unit.  I will keep you posted! 


Science
We spent some time tracking the sun and shadows last week, and recorded observations in their Science Notebooks.  They used their data to create graphs, then analyzed them to make some claims about the sun and shadows. Your children learned that the sun is always opposite their shadow, that the position of the sun impacts the length of the shadow, and that the sun travels in an arc across the sky. They took a performance assessment on Friday demonstrating these skills, so they will be bringing home Owl Scorecards for a sign and return this week. 

To clarify our classroom policy - if a student does not meet standards on a scorecard, they are expected to correct the work and turn it back in the following day.  They will meet with me to review the concept or skill, and they are given time to correct their assignment in class so they can continue to seek support. If they do not finish the re-do work in class, they may bring home the assignment for homework. If your child continues to struggle with the work at home, please encourage them to return to me for support!

Reading
We continue our work investigating story elements in fiction by digging deeper into characters this week.  Your children have really enjoyed the stories we've been reading in class!  They've been entertaining and thought provoking, so they've prompted a great deal of discussion.  I've been so pleased with the way they are leaning in and engaging in these lessons!  They will be trying their hand at independently analyzing a character on Tuesday - look for the Owl Scorecard to come home later in the week. 

Writing
We will be wrapping up our personal narrative lessons early in the week, then beginning to work on our final personal narratives at the end of the week.  These final personal narratives will be due at the end of next week. They will be working on these in class, and should only need to work on them at home should they be absent or miss a lesson for band.

Just a reminder - students continue to work on research in their weekly LMC lessons to prepare for a debate.  They will engage in a debate about one of the following two topics:


Should we spend money on space exploration?

Would it be safe to live somewhere other than earth?

Ask your child which debate they are focused on, and which side they are on.  They will be working to gather research to support their debate over the next couple of weeks. The debate will be on Wednesday, 11/7 during their LMC time. Students will be assessed on their ability to gather information from multiple sources for research (writing standard), as well as their ability to support their claims with evidence (science standard) with this research.  Some of your children have missed a few lessons due to band, so they have fallen behind in their research. They may need to complete some of the research at home.



As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.  

Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.
~ Mr. Rodgers


Cheers ~
Theresa Fowler

No comments:

Post a Comment