Weekly Reminders 1/7/13

Rockhopper Weekly Reminders
January 7-12


Mark Your Calendars:

Thursday, January 10th: Field Trip to San Juan Bautista
Friday, January 11th: Science Investigation 2 Quiz
Friday, January 11th: Vocabulary Quiz
Monday, January 21st: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (No School)
Wednesday, January 23rd: PSCO Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, January 25th: Spirit Day- Twin Day!

San Juan Bautista Field Trip:
This Thursday, as part of our social studies curriculum, we’ll spend the day at Mission San Juan Bautista. Students will tour the mission and grounds both with a tour guide and independently with their chaperones. They’ll go on a “treasure hunt” looking for features that are common to all missions and that are unique to Mission San Juan Bautista. They will also attend two class sessions where they will deepen their understanding of mission life. Students will need to bring a bag lunch and dress appropriately for the weather. This is a fantastic trip where history comes alive; we’re all looking forward to it!

Curriculum Flash!
Language Arts:
Our current core literature book is By the Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Fleischman. This fun adventure tale is set in the California Gold Rush Days and ties directly to our social studies curriculum. Our activities this week incorporate primary source materials from the Gold Rush era; these photographs, documents, and illustrations allow our students to make connections to this time period for themselves. We’ll also learn more about the author of our book with a couple of short biographies, we’ll share our background knowledge of the Gold Rush days and any areas for possible research, and we’ll make a personal connection to the main characters of the book as well. Westward, Ho!


Math:
4th grade: This week will be devoted to the study of fractions in all their glory! We’ll be modeling fractions with our fraction kits and counters, use our fraction kits again to explore equivalency, and complete a “parts of a whole group” cookie project (related to the children’s book entitled The Doorbell Rang) at the end of the week to reinforce our understanding of fractional values and amounts.


5th grade: Using pattern blocks and geoboards, students will continue to discover fractional relationships and practice adding fractions. They will apply the concept of equivalent fractions without using traditional methods, but using the pattern block models and the fractional pieces.


Social Studies:
We will continue with our unit on Explorers and begin our study of California Missions. We will concentrate on explorers who ventured along the Pacific coast and “discovered” California. Students will learn about the motivation and forces that brought these adventurers to the California coast and with an emphasis on the reasoning behind the development of the mission system and the effects it had on the Native population.

Science:
Before our break, we tested different objects to see if they were conductors or insulators of electricity. This week we will conclude Investigation 2: Making Connections. The highlight of our activity will be Part 5: Mystery Boards. In this activity, students detect hidden wires in a board using an electric circuit. We will also review the whole investigation to prepare students for Thursday’s quiz. We will use the study guide for our review, as well as go over questions that they have answered from the readings in the textbook. Finally, those who signed up for a kitchen science activity will receive a worksheet called “Behold the Power of Magnets!” We hope that you enjoy this activity with your child, especially since it ties in with our current topic of study.

CA Trivia:
What CA town has the same name as the state motto?