Weekly Update 6/12/2017

Updates/Reminders - Mark Your Calendars!!

• Reading EOGs are scheduled for Wednesday, June 21st and the Math EOGs are scheduled for Thursday, June 22nd.  If you know that your child will be absent for this assessment, please let me know as soon as possible, so a make-up day can be planned. 
• Meet the Teacher for the 2017-2018 school year will be on Tuesday, June 27th from 5:30-6:15PM.  
• End of the Year Class Picnic will be on Wednesday, June 28th from 1:15-2:00.  Parents are welcome to attend.  You may bring your child a special lunch that day or they may purchase one, as usual from the cafeteria.  

What We Are Learning This Week:
Reading: 

This week the students will work on reviewing all genres (nonfiction, fiction, and poetry) in preparation for their final assessment that they will take on Friday.  Below are the test taking strategies that we have talked about daily and use.  

•Good readers “box in” unfamiliar words and underline clues to their meaning

•Good readers jot down the main idea of each paragraph/section (nonfiction)

•Good readers jot down the problem and solution at the end of the text (fiction)

•Good readers identify the speaker and tone (poetry)

•Good readers jot down inferences that they make while reading.

•Good readers read the questions carefully and highlight important or key words

•Good readers go back into the text and highlight clues to help them determine the correct answer

•Good readers read all answer choices and put a “?” next to choices they think are right and cross out choices they know are wrong.

•Good readers circle the BEST answer.

Students will also continue to have two reading passages to complete for homework each week that coincides with the genre we are currently focusing on.  Students are required to show their thinking by annotating their thought process as they are reading, as well as applying the strategies they have learned thus far.  

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*What are the characteristics of the poetry genre?

*What reading strategies do good readers use when reading poetry?

*Show me how to “map out your thinking” when reading poetry.

*Give me an example of a metaphor, simile, personification or alliteration.

Writing: 

This week in writing, the students will continue to work on their free choice persuasive writing assignment.  The students are all working at their own pace and are working on adding the following items that are below:

•The introduction should include:

*clear wording

*stated opinion

*supporting details

*a hook

•The body paragraphs should include the "FAB FIVE" (topic sentence, 3-5 details, strong vocabulary, 3-5 transition words and end with a concluding sentence) t

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*What are the characteristics of each genre (informational, consumer, realistic fiction, traditional literature, and poetry?

*What reading strategies have you been taught to use with fiction, nonfiction and poetry texts?

Math: 

In math this week, the students will be working on reviewing taught math concepts in preparation for the EOGs.  They will focus on multiplication/division, measurement, geometry,, and fractions.  The students will have an increase in multiple choice style questions for homework this week to practice.  They will not have a Homework Review this week, due to increased math EOG review practice problems.  

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*What areas in math do you feel like you need the most help with in preparation for the EOG?

Science: 

This week, the students are wrapping up their landforms unit.  Students should begin to study for the science test, which will be on Friday this week.  Students have been given guiding study questions, which were written in their science notebooks.  

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*Tell me more about weathering, erosion, and deposition. 
*How do rivers change the surface of the earth?

Weekly Update 6/5/2017

Updates/Reminders - Mark Your Calendars!! 

• Reading EOGs are scheduled for Wednesday, June 21st and the Math EOGs are scheduled for Thursday, June 22nd.  If you know that your child will be absent for this assessment, please let me know as soon as possible, so a make-up day can be planned. 
• Meet the Teacher for the 2017-2018 school year will be on Tuesday, June 27th from 5:30-6:15PM.  
• End of the Year Class Picnic will be on Wednesday, June 28th from 1:15-2:00.  Parents are welcome to attend.  You may bring your child a special lunch that day or they may purchase one, as usual from the cafeteria.  

What We Are Learning This Week:
Reading: 

This week the students will begin to study the genre of poetry. The students will learn to apply the following strategies when reading poetry texts :

         •Readers read the poem 3 time (1-for fun, 2-for meaning, 3-for structure or figurative language)

         •Readers make judgments about the speaker in a poem (Who it is and what they are feeling).

         •Readers identify the tone of a poem to better understand what the poet is trying to convey.

         •Readers make judgments about the layout of a poem to help them make predictions about the mood or tone (i.e. white space, bold, italics, punctuation, shape).

         •Readers notice figurative language and use it to help them make a clear mind movie. (Highlight: metaphor, simile, idioms, personification, etc.)

Students will also continue to have two reading passages to complete for homework each week that coincides with the genre we are currently focusing on.  Students are required to show their thinking by annotating their thought process as they are reading, as well as applying the strategies they have learned thus far.  

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*What are the characteristics of the poetry genre?

*What reading strategies do good readers use when reading poetry?

*Show me how to “map out your thinking” when reading poetry.

*Give me an example of a metaphor, simile, personification or alliteration.

Writing: 

This week in writing, the students will continue to work on their free choice persuasive writing assignment.  The students are all working at their own pace and are working on adding the following items that are below:

•The introduction should include:

*clear wording

*stated opinion

*supporting details

*a hook

•The body paragraphs should include the "FAB FIVE" (topic sentence, 3-5 details, strong vocabulary, 3-5 transition words and end with a concluding sentence) t

Questions You Can Ask You Child At Home:

*What changes did you make to your paper?

*What do you feel you need to work on most as a writer?

*Who will be your audience?

*In which format would you like to write? (blog, letter, essay, etc.)

Math: 

Today, the students will take the line plot assessment.  Starting tomorrow, we will be reviewing all of the standards that we have learned so far this year.  The students will be taking a diagnostic quiz to help get a picture of their strengths and weaknesses.  The students will also be working on  homework each night that will review important standards.  This week, the students will particularly focus on place value, computation, and problem solving.  These will serve as good review tools.  

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*What areas in math do you feel like you need the most help with in preparation for the EOG?

Science: 

This week, students will continue to learn about the slow processes which change the earth's surface: weathering, erosion, and deposition.  At the beginning of the week, we will focus on rivers and how they change the surface of the earth.  Then, we will study various agents of weathering and deposition. Students will create a poster to show what they have learned.

Questions You Can Ask Your Child At Home: 

*Tell me more about weathering, erosion, and deposition. 
*How do rivers change the surface of the earth?