Weekly Reminders 11/26/2012

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders
November 26-30, 2012

Mark Your Calendars:
•Monday, November 26th: 2nd trimester begins
•Thursday, November 29th: Island of the Blue Dolphins test
•Friday, November 30th: Spirit Day- Hat Day!
•Friday, December 7th: Report cards go home
•Thursday, December 20th: Tribe Report Final Copy Due

Volunteers:
Thank you to those parents who have volunteered to help with literature circles! We can still need volunteers, so please let us know if you can help out. Here is the letter that was sent out before the break:
Dear Parents,

It's that time of year! Literature Circles are fast approaching and we need your help to once again make them successful. Ask any parent who has done it before - they actually have fun!! It's not difficult. Your role as a parent will include listening to students discuss literature and making notes about how they do. Each student will have a form that directs their conversations, and as an adult presence you encourage and guide them. I will also send home a copy of this form once you have confirmed, so you have a better idea of the types of questions and comments the students will be discussing. There will be four sessions:

1. Tuesday, December 4th from 8:15-9:00
2. Thursday, December 6th from 8:15-9:00
3. Tuesday, December 11th from 8:15-9:00
4. Thursday, December 13th from 8:15-9:00

We need 6 parents on each of the dates to help monitor, so you will be signing up for all four dates. In order to work with students in our classroom, you will need to have proof of a negative TB test, so please be sure to check in at the front office.

Curriculum Flash!
Language Arts
It’s almost Literature Circle time in the Rockhopper Village! We’ll be demonstrating how to properly prepare and respond to literature in advance of our group meetings, we’ll introduce possible book selections to our kids, and our classes will select their literature circle books and meet with their groups to plan reading sections for their book. Our centers this week will feature ongoing vocabulary development, nonfiction work with Time for Kids, computer or iPad use/exploration, and sentence review and practice. Finally, we’ll be wrapping up Island of the Blue Dolphins with a cumulative test on Thursday.

Math
4th grade: Division takes center stage during this week’s math time. We’ll be applying our basic multiplication facts when dividing larger numbers and regrouping in division, we’ll use our mathematical reasoning skills to interpret remainders, and we’ll learn some divisibility rules that are just plain fun to know! Finally, our holiday-themed “art project” will be well done by Friday- Divisibility Turkeys will be on display!

5th grade:
This week students continue practicing the adding and subtracting of integers using a number line, manipulatives, and the integer apps we have on our i-Pads. Of course, we’ll also be teaching the vocabulary that accompanies these mathematical concepts!

Social Studies:
We are about to begin work on our first official research report of the school year. Students will be researching in pairs to learn more about different Native American tribes living in California. Since this will be the first expository research report of the year, there will be a lot of scaffolding to ensure student success. Each pair will cooperatively study a tribe in detail and gather as much information as possible. Students will then be responsible for individual written reports.

Some of the work for this report will be done at school, and other parts will be done at home. Students will use class time to do research and take notes with their partners. They will then use their notes to construct an outline on a special form. At home, students will follow the outline and put their ideas into separate paragraphs for a rough draft. Students will then write a final copy with a bibliography.

Science:
Our three science classes begin their study of Electricity and Magnetism this week. We’ll start off on Monday with a quick conversation to guage our background knowledge in our new subject area, then we’ll dive into our exploration of magnetic properties. Assessing magnetic properties of various supplied materials, exploring our classroom environment for magnetic materials, and observing the effect of polarity on other magnets will be principal topics for the week. Any assessment this week will be limited to an Investigation Response question that is given immediately following a classroom exploration; the focus of this assessment is to determine the student’s ability to apply their hands-on experience to a closely related scenario.

CA Trivia:
The largest of CA’s carnivorous plants is known as what?