Classroom Update - Week of August 28th

Please check out the new reading webpage on our school site for parents. This was created by our school media specialist, Ms. Minton and it will be a great site for you to use to find ways you can help your child at home.

• Reading 411

• Leveled Booklists (These are trade books they should be able to find at the library.)

Yearbook Photos will be taken this Wednesday for all students. If you would like to purchase these photos of your child, it must be done in advance. Please let me know by tomorrow, if you need an extra form. All picture money forms must be turned in by Wednesday morning

Interims will be going home this Friday. Please review this with your child, sign and return by Tuesday, September 5th. Remember, this information is only covering the first five weeks of school and can and will change based on student performance.

Updates / Reminders:

• School Picture Day for Track 4 is Wednesday, August 30th. These are photos for the yearbook. Picture forms will go home tomorrow.

• If your child plans on bringing in a device for our BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program, they may start doing so now, as long as the BYOD agreement has been completed by the student and parent (this went home in Friday Folders) and you have registered your child's device HERE.

• School Picture Day for Track 4 is Wednesday, August 30th. These are photos for the yearbook. Picture forms will go home tomorrow.

• No School on Monday, September 4th in observance of Labor Day.

• Our next early release day is Friday, September 29th. Students will dismiss at 1:15PM.

• Track Out Day is Friday, September 29th, however report cards will not go home until Friday, October 27th.

• Mark your calendars for Morrisville's Annual Fall Festival! It will be held on Friday, September 29th.

Reader's Workshop:

This week in reading the students will continue to read nonfiction texts and in doing so work on being able to identify the main idea and supporting details. To help them organize their thinking on the main idea (what the article/paragraph is mostly about) they will be utilizing the Brace Thinking Map, which helps the children to see the whole to part relationship. The students will also work on making inferences as they read nonfiction text and work hard on finding textual evidence to support their thinking. The students will take a nonfiction assessment on making inferences and finding the main idea on Friday, September 2nd.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• Show me how you use a Brace Map to find the main idea and supporting details of nonfiction texts.

• How does the brace map help you in writing a summary of what you just read?

• What inferences can you make while reading________? What support from the text helps you to make that inference?

Writer's Workshop

This week in writing, the students will work on completing their writing by finishing their middle and work constructing a strong conclusion that makes their personal narrative seem complete and provides closure. The students will also work on revising and editing their personal narratives through utilizing a provided checklist. The students will be using this checklist both individually and with a writing partner. Finally, as the week ends, the students will work on publishing their narrative by taking it to final copy either through writing it neatly on loose leaf paper or typing it on the computer.

Important Questions to Consider When Revising Narratives:

• Whisper read your narrative aloud to yourself. Does it sound right? Do all parts make sense?

• Is your writing in logical order? You want to be sure that your story follows a sequence of events.

• Are there any unnecessary (so what) details? If so, get rid of them!

• Does your narrative paint a clear and vivid picture in the reader’s mind?

• Did you use interesting and juicy words in your writing?

• Do most of your sentences begin the same way? If so, how can you change them?

• Does your introduction draw the reader in?

• Does your conclusion seem complete?

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• How did you end your narrative? Does it seem complete?

• What do you plan on doing to improve your narrative?

• What type of feedback did you receive from your writing partner on how to make your paper stronger?

Math:

This week in math the students will finish up their addition/subtraction/rounding unit on Wednesday with a common assessment. They will end the week by starting a a factoring unit that will have them listing factors, finding multiples, and determining whether numbers 1-100 are prime or composite. It is important that with this unit of math, the students practice and are fluent with their multiplication fast facts. Therefore, if they do not know all of their facts yet, they should be studying a little each night. They will take their next math assessment on factoring next Friday, September 8th.

Important Math Vocabulary:

• Factor: one of two or more numbers multiplied to find a product

• Multiple: a number that is the product of the given number an integer

• Product: the answer to a multiplication problem

• Prime Number: a number that has exactly two factors, itself and one

• Composite Number: a number that has more than two factors

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• What is the difference between a prime and a composite number?

• Can you tell me the factors of 32?

• What are the first twelve multiples of 6?

Science:

This week, the students will be studying some effects of earth in space: how and why we see moon phases and why we have day and night. After this short unit, the students will start their Rocks and Minerals unit next week.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• Can you tell me more about the phases of the moon?

• Share with me your science notebook and the notes that you have been taking.