Weekly Update 2/27/17

Updates/Reminders: 

• The Science Fair & Expo will be held on Thursday, March 2nd from 6 - 8 pm. 
  
• Single Subject Acceleration (SSA) is the practice of assigning a student to a higher-grade level than is typical, given the student's age, for the purpose of providing access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities.  SSA is an accelerative practice that allows students to show mastery of the content of a course without having taken the course.  If you want to learn more about SSA, there are a number of upcoming Parent Information Sessions that you can attend.  You can view the schedule here: http://bit.ly/2m0U7pC or by visiting the WCPSS Accelerative Practices website at http://wakeacceleration.weebly.com/.   
• This week Morrisville will celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday and the fact that March is reading month.  Encourage your child to participate in the Dr. Seuss themed spirit activities below: 

• The Morrisville Science Fair is scheduled for Thursday, March 2nd from 6-8PM.  If your child is interested in presenting a project, they are to fill out the following form https://docs.google.com/a/wcpss.net/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3Svr_19GV1A3Q6h017SbOgIDc85X24L-QOiN7MME5dYwAjg/viewform?c=0&w=1 to register for this event. 
• Students can bring their projects to school in the morning between 8:45 - 9:15 am to the science lab in the Media Center or to the Fair by 5:45 pm. Students will talk to judges about their projects during their designated times as listed below:
• Grades K - 1: 6 - 630
• Grades 2 - 3: 640 - 710
• Grades 4 - 5: 720 - 750
• There will be other activities at school to participate in during the evening in the Media Center and Gym.  All projects should be taken home at the conclusion of the Fair. Please direct any questions to Bonani Langan at bonani.langan@gmail.com.
• Our school is partnering with St. Baldrick's.  This is a wonderful organization that raises money to fight pediatric cancer.  One of our own, Matt Tussey, a 4th grade teacher has agreed to get his head shaved if we raise $2,000!  If you would like to donate please go to this website   https://www.stbaldricks.org and search for MES Mustangs.  You can also get more information on the head shaving event that will take place on March 18th at Glenwood South.  Please let me know if you have any questions!  

What We Are Learning This Week:
Reading: 

This week, the students will continue their second novel study unit that will center around social issues.  Some of the common social issues that we will be discussing are: Growing Up, Courage & Honor, Culture & Diversity, Overcoming Obstacles, Fitting In, Forgiveness, and Abandonment.  The students will study these social issues through a variety of picture books that will be used during the daily mini-lessons and their novel study.  The students will take their Social Issues reading assessment, on Monday, March 6th. 

Some specific mini-lesson topics this week will include:

•Good readers reread familiar texts to find and identify the social issues thread throughout the text.

•Good readers evaluate situations or character responses that deal with social issues by responding to prompts.

•Good readers talk about what they know about gender, race, or class before reading a story that has one of these at the core of the story. 

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*What social issue(s) is/are found in the book you are reading?

*What details from the text support it?

*What is fair/unfair in your novel?  Why?

*What pressures does your main character have?

*How does your main character behave?  *What might motivate or influence your character to behave that way?

Writing: 

This week in writing the students will be starting another opinion paper. As they brainstorm topics to write about they will be also focusing on subjects that they already know a lot about, to ensure that they will be able to elaborate and add lots of strong details of support.  The students will then plan their writing using a tree map and come up with a focused thesis (opinion) statement.  As the week progresses, the students will work on writing an engaging introduction and clear topic sentences, while incorporating transitional words and phrases.

Fabulous Five Must Haves in Each Body Paragraph:

1.Clear Topic Sentence

2.3-5 Well Elaborated Details

3.At least 3 Transitional Words/Phrases 

4.Descriptive or Content Specific Vocabulary

5.Clear Concluding Statement

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*Tell me what you are writing about.  Why did you choose this topic? 

*How did you begin your introduction?  Does it catch your reader’s attention?

*Do you have topic and concluding sentences for each paragraph?

*Do you have at least three details to support each topic sentence?

Math: 

Tomorrow, the students will start working on the next unit, which will involve adding and subtracting fractional numbers with common denominators.  A large focus will be placed on adding and subtracting mixed numbers.  The students will be relying on strategies such as using pictorial representations (fraction bars), number lines, converting the mixed numbers to improper fractions, or decomposing mixed numbers to make it easier to subtract.   

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*Show me how you can add and subtract mixed numbers using a pictorial representation?  Number lines?  

Science: 

This week, the students will continue to observe the properties of rocks and minerals and learn the difference between rocks and minerals.  They will learn about the three different types of rocks and the rock cycle.  Please remind your child to review the notes we have taken in class.  This will help prepare them for the test that will be given in about two weeks.  Several students were absent on Friday, 2/24.  They will be responsible for getting the notes from another student.

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*What are the three different types of rocks?
*Can you explain the rock cycle to me? 

Weekly Update 2/20/2017

Updates/Reminders: 

• Single Subject Acceleration (SSA) is the practice of assigning a student to a higher-grade level than is typical, given the student's age, for the purpose of providing access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities.  SSA is an accelerative practice that allows students to show mastery of the content of a course without having taken the course.  If you want to learn more about SSA, there are a number of upcoming Parent Information Sessions that you can attend.  You can view the schedule here: http://bit.ly/2m0U7pC or by visiting the WCPSS Accelerative Practices website at http://wakeacceleration.weebly.com/.  
• Our incredible PTA organizes a Science Go Round every year.  This year's event will be held on Thursday, February 23rd.  For this the classes get to learn about various science topics from volunteers, who come to talk to the children.  It is a very fun event and one that the students look forward to each year!
• Interims will go home this Friday, February 24th.  
• Next week Morrisville will celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday and the fact that March is reading month.  Encourage your child to participate in the Dr. Seuss themed spirit activities below: 

• The Morrisville Science Fair is scheduled for Thursday, March 2nd from 6-8PM.  If your child is interested in presenting a project, they are to fill out the following form https://docs.google.com/a/wcpss.net/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3Svr_19GV1A3Q6h017SbOgIDc85X24L-QOiN7MME5dYwAjg/viewform?c=0&w=1 to register for this event. 

What We Are Learning This Week:
Reading: 

Last Thursday, the students began their second novel study unit that centered around social issues.  Some of the common social issues that we will be discussing are: Growing Up, Courage & Honor, Culture & Diversity, Overcoming Obstacles, Fitting In, Forgiveness, and Abandonment.  The students will study these social issues through a variety of picture books that will be used during the daily mini-lessons and their novel study.

Some specific mini-lesson topics this week will include:

*Good readers reread familiar texts to find and identify the social issues thread throughout the text.

*Good readers evaluate situations or character responses that deal with social issues by responding to prompts.

*Good readers talk about what they know about gender, race, or class before reading a story that has one of these at the core of the story. 

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*What social issue(s) is/are found in the book you are reading?

*What details from the text support it?

*What is fair/unfair in your novel?  Why?

*What pressures does your main character have?

*How does your main character behave?  *What might motivate or influence your character to behave that way?

Writing: 

This week in writing the students will be finishing their conclusions and working on editing and revising their paper independently and then with their writing partner.  This paper will not be taken to final copy.  The students will start another opinion paper at the end of this week.

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*How did you begin your introduction?  Does it catch your reader’s attention?

*Do you have topic and concluding sentences for each paragraph?

*Do you have at least three details to support each topic sentence?

*Tell me how your conclusion shows why your claim is significant?

Math: 

This week, in math, the students will learn about different strategies for comparing fractions.  Some of the helpful techniques that we will be focusing on this week are creating visual representations (fraction bars), ordering the fractions on a number line, and by finding common numerators and denominators. The students will take a common assessment on this skill next Monday, February 27th. 

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*Show me all of the different ways that you have learned to compare fractions.

*How can you use benchmark fractions like  1/2 to compare fractions?

*Which method of comparing fractions do you feel the most successful using?

Social Studies: 

This week, the students will begin the Earth Materials (Rocks & Minerals) unit.  Students will observe the properties of rocks and minerals and learn the difference between rocks and minerals.

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*What are some properties of rocks and minerals that you are learning about in class? 
*What is the difference between rocks and minerals? 

Weekly Update 2/6/2017

Updates/Reminders: 

• Our field trip to the North Carolina Legislative Building and the North Carolina History Museum is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, February 7th. Please make sure that your child is at school by 9:15, as the bus will be leaving at 9:30 sharp! 
• Please support your child as our school raises money for the American Heart Association through Jump Rope for Heart!  Forms went home today.  
• Friday, February 10th is another early release day.  School will be dismissed at 1:15PM.  Please fill out this Google form: 
• https://docs.google.com/a/wcpss.net/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWLS3jlfNu7K9fw_ykcww_sOqGEabZCgW-RSMIKeiyE081lw/viewform
• Our class will celebrate Valentine's Day briefly at the end of the day on Tuesday, February 14th by exchanging valentines.  They do not have to pass out valentines if they would prefer not to, however, if they choose to do so, they should have a valentine for every student in this class.  We currently have 23 students: Georgia, Saachi, Eva, Abigail B., Ethan, Savannah, Porter, Jack, Chris, Vincent, Vedant, Hrisha, Alex, Kelly, Jada, Brody, Abigail M., Jackson, Evelyn, Ved, Sydney, Holt, Kayla
• Our incredible PTA organizes a Science Go Round every year.  This year's event will be held on Thursday, February 23rd.  For this the classes get to learn about various science topics from volunteers, who come to talk to the children.  It is a very fun event and one that the students look forward to each year!
• Field trip paperwork for our trip to the coast went home with your child last week.  This field trip is scheduled for Thursday, April 27th and is always a favorite fourth grade memory!  We are hoping to have all field trip paperwork and payments received by February 20th.  If you have any questions or concerns about the trip, please feel free to contact me. 
• Our School Improvement Team wants your feedback!  Our school improvement team meets monthly to continuously monitor the progress of our students' achievement and our teachers' instructional practices.  Our school improvement plan goals are written to obtain a high level of student proficiency while meeting or exceeding student growth by focusing on the areas of increasing rigor, improving student's written responses, continuously providing interventions and progress monitor for students who need support, increasing student accountability and improving students' content vocabulary.   Please take a few minutes to take this brief survey and share with us your perspectives as parents.  Your feedback will help us determine areas where we are doing well and areas for improvement.   You can access the survey at http://tinyurl.com/SIPQ2ParentSurvey
• The Morrisville Science Fair is scheduled for Thursday, March 2nd from 6-8PM.  If your child is interested in presenting a project, they are to fill out the following form https://docs.google.com/a/wcpss.net/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3Svr_19GV1A3Q6h017SbOgIDc85X24L-QOiN7MME5dYwAjg/viewform?c=0&w=1 to register for this event. 

What We Are Learning This Week:
Reading: 

This week, the students will continue to focus on reading the complex text of historical fiction.  The readers are all enjoying their historical fiction novels and doing a great job discussing them using support from the text. This week the students will finish their novels and focus on pairing them with nonfiction texts to help them deepen their understanding of that historical time period.  The students will take their first reading assessment on Monday, February 13th. 

Some specific mini-lesson topics this week will include:

   •  •Analyzing photographs and firsthand/secondhand accounts to deepen their understanding of historical fiction texts.

       •Determining the importance of parts that make us, as readers, stop and think.

       •Determining who has power, how did they get it, and whether or not power can change.

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home:

*What parts of your book make you stop and think?  What makes that part important?

*Who has power?

*How do they get it?

*Does the power change?

Writing: 

This week, the students will continue to work on opinion writing.  They will be working on writing their three body paragraphs that will support their thesis statement.  As the students construct their body it is very important that they include the Fabulous Five in each paragraph. 

Fabulous Five Must Haves in Each Nonfiction Paragraph:

1.Clear topic sentence that tells the main idea of your paragraph

2.At least 3-5 relevant details that will support the topic

3.Different transitional words throughout the paragraph

4.Content specific vocabulary

5.Concluding statement that sums up their paragraph in a new and different way from their topic sentence.

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*Tell me more about your 3 supporting paragraphs and how you used the Fabulous Five Must Haves

Math: 

This week, in math, the students will continue to focus on patterns.  They will be investigating geometric and numerical patterns in sequences and input/output charts.  The students will be responsible for finding the rule in given pattern sets and listing the features that they discover in that pattern.  On Wednesday, the students will be taking an assessment on creating and extending patterns. For the remainder of the quarter, the students will be working on fractions, with a strong emphasis on being able to draw pictorial representations of fraction/fraction models to show their thinking.  

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*What is the rule for the following pattern: 37, 32, 27, 22?

*What features does this pattern have?

*Can you create your own pattern using the rule divide 4?  What features would this pattern have?

*Can you create an input/output chart with a rule of multiply 3, add 2?

Social Studies: 

This week in social studies the students will learn about positive and negative incentives. They will learn about different types of incentives that are found in their community and how they can influence behavior. The students will also learn about the importance of creating a budget and how financial choices can lead to rewards or consequences. The students will have a quiz on Tuesday (February 14th) that will cover the economics topics that we have learned so far. It would be a good idea for the students to specifically review the following terms for the quiz: goods, services, human resources, capital resources, and natural resources.

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*Give me some examples of a positive and negative incentive.
*Which do you find more effective?
*How can choices that you make about money lead to rewards and consequences?