Classroom Update - Week of May 21st

Upcoming Events / Reminders:

• Last night I sent out a SignUp Genius for our Spring Student Led Conferences. Please use this link to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080e4cabaf2ca7f85-spring

• Memorial Day is Monday, May 28th - there will be no school

• 4th Quarter Interims will go home on Friday, June 1st.

• Tentative Dates for the EOGS for 4th graders will be on Monday, June 18th (Math) and Tuesday, June 19th (Reading). These dates are subject to change and the entire week of June 18th is blocked off as potential testing days. Please let me know, as soon as possible, if you think your child will miss this week of school.

• Our End of the Year Class Picnic will be on Tuesday, June 26th from 1:00-2:00PM at the picnic tables in the front of the school building. We will be celebrating with Ms. Wade's class and more information will follow closer to the date.

• Meet the Teacher for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year will be on Tuesday, June 26th for tracks 2, 3, and 4 from 5:30-6:15PM.

• Our last day of school is Friday, June 29th. Report card will go home with your child that day.

Reader's Workshop:

This week the students will study the genre of realistic fiction texts. The students will learn to apply the following strategies when reading realistic fiction and traditional literature texts:

• Readers identify how a character changes throughout a text.

• Readers identify the problem and lesson learned

• Readers make a mind movie to better understand how a character feels.

• Readers make inferences about a character based on their dialogue and actions.

• Readers reread and reword test questions to better understand what is being asked.

• Readers use “read around the word” and “fill in the blank” to determine the meaning of unknown words.

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 annotate their thinking by showing their thought process as they are reading, as well as applying the strategies they have learned thus far.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• What are the characteristics of the realistic fiction genre?

• What reading strategies do good readers use when reading realistic fiction texts?

• Show me how to annotate your thinking when reading realistic fiction texts.

• What inferences can you make about the main character?

Writer's Workshop:

This week in writing, the students will continue to work on drafting their persuasive writing. They will work on writing three strong body paragraphs, and some will complete their conclusion this week. As they draft their writing, students should make sure that they are including the Fab 5 in each body paragraph.

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 to Ask Your Child at Home:

• Who is your intended audience?

• What ideas do you have that support your topic?

• What persuasive words and phrases are you using in your writing to make it more convincing?

Math:

In math this week, the students will be working on solving word problems involving the customary terms of measurement. It is very important that your child memorize the following conversions.

• 12 inches = 1 foot

• 3 feet = 1 yard; 36 inches = 1 yard

• 1,760 yards = 1 mile; 5,280 feet = 1 mile

• 4 quarts = 1 gallon

• 2 pints = 1 quart

• 2 cups = 1 pint

• 8 ounces = 1 cup

• 16 ounces = 1 pound

They will have an assessment on customary measurement on Friday May 25th.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• How many inches are in a foot? Feet in a yard? Yards in a mile?

• How many quarts are in a gallon? Pints in a quart? Cups in a pint?

• How many ounces are in a pound?

Science:

The students will finish up their last week of science this week with Ms. Wade. They will spend the first part of the week reviewing for their assessment on Thursday and then on Friday, the students will review how light travels.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:

• What is electricity and how does it flow?

• What is energy and how does it move things?

• Show me your science notebook and the diagram drawings of circuits that you made.