Weekly Reminders 9/28/09

Dear Room 20 & 21 parents and students,
Here we are, now just one week away from vacation. As our break nears, you will notice that we are wrapping up some areas of instruction. Please be sure to ask your child about upcoming tests and quizzes they may have this week. With that said, we hope you have a good two weeks, and if you're traveling, enjoy yourselves and come back safely! We'll see all students back on Monday, October 19th.

.
Just a quick reminder that our blogsite addresses are:

Room 20 (Scourkes) http://rockhopperroom20.blogspot.com
Room 21 (Roels) http://gtfroom22.blogspot.com

Students should be checking these sites weekly to keep THEMSELVES informed of all the latest village news.

Volunteers Needed!
In Social Studies, our final craft will be to make "wampum" belts, an important system used for both money and record keeping by the Woodland Native American Tribes. We need volunteers to dye macaroni pasta at home (full directions will be given), donations of materials, AND we need parents to help out in the classroom during the actual making of the belts. See our forthcoming email for more details!

In Language Arts, we will need volunteers to help with literature circles. We are be contacting parents who've signed up to help in this area, but if you'd like to spend 45 minutes to 1 hour two times a week for two weeks helping out in the class, we would love to have your help. The dates will be Tues. Oct 27, Thursday, Oct. 29, Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Thursday, November 5 from 8:15 - 9:00.
Please us know if you're interested!

Curriculum:

Language Arts

We will finish our novel, Stone Fox on Tuesday of this week. The students will be tested on their understanding of this story with a short test on Thursday. Students will be asked basic comprehension questions and to identify vocabulary. Students will also be assessed on their understanding based on their Stone Fox journal that they have been keeping throughout this literature study.

After the break we will be introducing our first literature circles. Students will have the opportunity to choose a book that interests them, and then participate in group discussions regarding the book they have chosen. We will be contacting parents who have said they would like to volunteer for this fun activity, but if you haven't signed up to volunteer and would like to, please let us know!

When students are not busy discussing their literature choices, our classroom focus will be on the writing genres of summary and "accordian" paragraphs. Rich content and sound structure in our writing is emphasized.


Math

In 4th grade math, we are continuing the study of factors, multiples, prime numbers, arrays, fact families, and other terminology and elements of multiplication. The Rectangle Factory, which is a great interactive method of seeing and experiencing the relationships between sets of numbers, is nearly complete! We can now see prime numbers and multiples forming patterns and relationships in the "factory." As a complement to this activity, we also are using factors and the associative property of multiplication to make "factor wheels"- art that represents math expressions in a VERY colorful way!

In 5th grade math

In 5th grade math, we have gone over the expectations and rubric for the POWs (Problem of the Week). Students have a copy of the grading rubric in their binders. Last week, they had the opportunity to solve one problem together in class, and were give a second problem to do more independently. This current POW is due on Wednesday of this week. Feel free to ask your child for a peek at what they've done and let them have the opportunity to explain to you how they solved the problem.

Social Studies

In social studies, we are finishing our study of Native Americans early this week. The students have read and are taking notes on the Eastern Woodland cultural group, including the Algonquin and Iroquois Nations. We will have our unit test after the break. Students will be given a study guide this week, and it is important that they begin studying for the test now, since there is a substantial amount of material. Please feel free to help you child with their study techniques. They've been given ideas in class of how to study, but may need additional assistance at home. The test will include paragraph, short answer, fill in the blank, multiple choice, and map work. On Wednesday or Thursday of this week, I will be going over my expectations in more detail with the students.

Science

Our evaporation investigation (concerning the effects of location and temperature on evaporation) is now being produced in the exact format that the scientific method requires. We'll end up with an experimental write up worthy of our anthology collection! Condensation is the next investigation topic we'll pursue this week.

Calendar of Events:
Monday, September 28: Wildlife Assembly
Tuesday, September 29: Lunch on the Lawn
Wednesday, September 30: PSCO Meeting. 6:30
Thursday, October 1: Stone Fox Test
Monday, October 5 - Friday, October 16 : October Break - NO SCHOOL
Monday, October 5 - Friday, October 16: PEP for those enrolled students
Monday, October 19 - Friday, October 23: Red Ribbon Week
Friday, October 23: Spirit Day - Wear Red!
Monday, October 26: Learning Day. No school for students.


MYSTERY STATE CLUES:
The flag of this state was designed by a 13-year-old boy.
This state has 6,640 miles of coastline, more than all other states combined.
William A. Egan was this state's first governor.
The United States purchased this state from Russia.
Which state is it?


Sincerely,

Mr. Roels and Miss Scourkes
Rooms 20 & 21
Rockhopper Village
Portal School