Classroom Update - Week of September 11th

Fall Festival Wristbands:

If you plan to purchase a wristband for your child for Fall Festival, it is recommended that you do it online at https://morrisvillepta.org/fall-festival/. Wristbands are only needed for the students and parents will get in free. It is always such a fun event and a great way to celebrate the end of the quarter. Hope to see you all there!

Reflections Competition:

Morrisville Elementary will participate in the National PTA’s Reflections competition again this year. Entries should be placed in the Reflections box in our front office and must be turned in by Friday, October 27. Please note that each entry must be submitted with a completed Student Entry Form. These forms must be signed by the student and a parent. Entries without completed and signed forms will not be accepted. The theme for 2017-18 is “Within Reach.” Entry categories include dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts. Only new pieces of artwork inspired by the current year’s theme may be submitted. Students in all grade levels are welcome to participate. For more contest guidelines, category rules and entry forms, please see the Wake PTA Reflections website.

Updates / Reminders:

• Our first field trip to the North Carolina Symphony will be on Thursday, September 28th. Please have your child dress nicely for this event. They may bring clothes to change into once we return to school, if they would like.

• 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. Since we will be staying in the same classroom (Room 410) all year, there is no need to take home school supplies over track out.

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

• Monday, October 23rd is track in day.

Reader's Workshop: This week the students will be working on identifying the character traits and describing the plot and the setting of fiction texts. They will then work on comparing two or more settings or characters from the book to determine how they are similar and different. The students will also work on reviewing inferring and describing the theme of a text. Our final reading assessment will be on Wednesday, September 27th.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• What character trait describes _______? Can you find at least 3 examples of evidence in the text to support your answer?

• What is a theme in your novel? What is some specific evidence from the text that supports that theme?

Writer's Workshop:

This week in writing, the students will work to finish another personal narrative writing. The students have focused on slowing down their WOW moment by adding strong sensory details and juicy descriptive vocabulary. They will also work on writing a conclusion that properly finishes his/her story and wraps it up with a creative ending that makes the story feel complete. At the end of the week, the students will work on revising and editing their writing pieces and taking it to final copy.

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 do you plan on stretching out your small moment by adding slow motion replay?

• 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 continue to work on multi-digit multiplication. They will be focusing on solving 1x3, 1x4, and 2x2 digit numbers using the area/rectangle model, expanded notation model, and the algebraic model. The students are expected to be able to show multiple ways to multiply numbers, so it is important that they have an understanding of all methods. Please check Bloomz, your email, and my website for additional video/tutorials this week that model the strategies that we are learning in class. The students will take their multiplication assessment on Tuesday, September 26th. If your child is still struggling with their multiplication facts, it is important that they are practicing these facts (1-10) at least 10-15 minutes each night. They will not be allowed to use multiplication facts tables on the assessment.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• Can you show me how to multiply numbers using

• ​The Area/Rectangle Method?

• Expanded Notation?

• Algebraic Method

• Which method do you feel the most comfortable using?

• Which method do you need more practice with?

Science

This week, the students will conclude their unit on rocks and minerals. It is important that your child is taking home their science notebooks each night to study from. This test will not be open notes. The unit test will be Thursday, September 21.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• What properties help you to identify a rock or mineral?

• What special property does calcite have?

• What is the difference between a mineral and a rock?