Hi Families!
Quick notes to know:
- 4/28/22- 6/3/22: April 28th starts the ABC countdown
- 5/9 NWEA testing in the morning- please be on time
- 5/11/22 Early Release
- 5/11/22 6:30 p.m. Parent University Doug Bolton, Ph.D. discusses cultivation of resilience (registration required)
- 5/12 NWEA testing in the morning- please be on time
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- Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, step-mothers, grandmothers, aunts, mother-figures and caregivers. I hope this day brings you a lot of joy!
- Thank you so very much for the wonderful flowers, treats and notes of encouragement. You certainly made both Mrs. Crothers and myself feel special this week. We are so honored to be your child’s teacher. Thank you!
- April 28th starts the ABC countdown Please click this link to view each day’s theme. This is optional for students and just a fun way to count down the days until summer break.
- NWEA testing is this next Monday 5/9 and Thursday 5/12. It will start early in the morning, so please try to have students here on time. It is also helpful for students to have a good night of rest and a breakfast in order to do their best. Thank you for your support!
NEXT WEEK:
Reading and Writing,
Spelling: We will not have spelling this week due to the early release and testing schedules. Spelling will resume on 5/16/22 and follow a normal spelling schedule that week with a test on Friday 5/20/22.
In writing,
We have finished our unit on poetry. Students worked very hard and are really proud of their poems. They have learned about triplets, haikus, limericks, alliteration and more. They have learned how to describe themselves and others using poetry. They have also learned about telling a story or conveying an emotion through poetry. After I have the opportunity to collect and grade their booklet, they will bring them home. They are excited to share with you their personal book of poems. I am very proud of their hard work!
We will begin our last unit of writing. This unit will be informational writing. Students will research a specific invasive species in the great lakes. Then, they will write an informational pamphlet on the species. This unit will last until the end of the school year. This week students will select their invasive species. Then, they will conduct research. Students will complete a questionnaire on the invasive species that will help guide them on what types of information they will need. At the end of this week, students will start their pamphlet. Next week, we will continue the pamphlet, our goal is for the final draft and illustrations to be completed by or before 5/25/22.
In reading,
We have started our next novel, “Howliday Inn” by James Howe. This is a mystery novel based on the main character, Harold. Harold is a sweet dog who has the gift of typing and is the “author” of the Howliday Inn novel. His family goes on vacation while he and Chester the cat are boarded at Chateau Bow-Wow (nicknamed Howliday Inn). Many mysterious events happen as dogs slowly go missing. Harold and Chester try to solve the mystery before it is too late!
This novel is our last novel of the year. This week and next, students will listen to a read aloud of one chapter per day. Then, they will complete comprehension questions and activities based on each chapter of the novel. At the end of the novel we will have a wrap up activity as well. Students should be completing the novel and assignments by 5/27/22 if not a little sooner.
3rd grade Math,
We are halfway through Unit 6 which focuses on geometry. Unit 6 will be the last unit of the year. We are planning on taking the unit assessment on 5/25/22. An overview of Unit 6: Students develop increasingly precise ways to describe, classify, and make generalizations about two-dimensional shapes, particularly quadrilaterals. In Module 1, students explore polygons in a variety of creative ways. In Module 2, they form polygons and special quadrilaterals to build understanding that shared attributes can define a larger category. Module 3 combines geometry and measurement as students measure the perimeters and areas of polygons. Module 4 offers students opportunities to apply what they’ve learned about quadrilaterals and area in the context of fractions.
This week and next week we will be working on Module three and starting module four- which is the final set of lessons in the unit. Module 3 focuses on perimeter and area. Students investigate perimeter and area as related but different ways to measure polygons. Module 3 opens with a story about a little raccoon who invites 328 neighbors to lunch and must prepare seating arrangements. The story provides a context for students to design and model tables by pushing square-inch tiles together to form various rectangles. Over several sessions, students discover it’s possible to build different rectangles with a perimeter of 20 linear units, but each with a different area. Similarly, they find that it’s possible to build several different rectangles with an area of 24 square units, but each one has a different perimeter. These discoveries and others make for engaging learning opportunities.
4th Grade Math
Hello 4th Grade!
This week in math, we are going to be continuing to learn about angles, circles, and symmetry! So far, we have learned about acute, obtuse, straight, right, and zero angles. We will continue to expand our knowledge as well as learn to use a protractor to measure and create angles. We will be learning a few games to play with classmates this week to help enforce the concepts we have been learning. It’s “shaping” up to be a really fun unit!
Science/Social Studies
We are finishing up our unit on biomimicry. As our final project, students will be creating their own invention based on nature. They will write up how their invention works and why it imitates nature.
Following the end of biomimicry students will next be starting a unit on geography. We will be learning about continents and oceans. Students will learn about these and then complete activities to reinforce their learning.
We are continuing phenology and solo spots, alternating each week. Please make sure your student is prepared to be outside on a regular basis with warm outdoor clothing.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
