Classroom Update - Week of August 27th
Updates/Reminders:
To celebrate filling up our MES sticker chart, our class will be having a Flashlight day on Monday (tomorrow)! This means that your child can bring in a flashlight from home and we will be completing work and reading by flashlight. The students may also bring in a blanket to sit on during independent reading.
Strawbridge School Pictures will be taken on Monday on Monday, August 27th. These photos must be prepaid, so if you haven't sent in your order form, yet, please do so by Monday. These are the same pictures that will be displayed in yearbooks, so all children will have their pictures taken. Retakes will be offered for those interested in November.
If you child plans on participating in BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) - Don't forget to register your device online HERE and complete and turn in this THIS form.
Labor Day is Monday, September 3rd. There will be no school that day. Enjoy the long weekend.
Friday, September 28th is an Early Release Day. School will be dismissed at 1:15PM
Track Out Day for Quarter One is Friday, September 28th.
E.L. Education:
This week the students will be working on formulating strong informational paragraphs on a given prompt. The students will specifically focus on what inspires writers to write poetry. They will first focus on the poet, William Carlos Williams as a class and then choose from one of the poets that they learned about in Love That Dog to to study more in depth. The poets they can choose from are Robert Frost, Valerie Worth, and Walter Dean Myers.
Working to become an effective learner is the habit of character emphasized in this unit. These are the specific effective learning skills students will focus on:
I take initiative. This means I see what needs to be done and take the lead on making responsible decisions.
I take responsibility. This means I take ownership of my ideas, my work, my goals, and my actions.
I persevere. This means I challenge myself. When something is difficult or demanding, I keep trying and ask for help.
I collaborate. This means I work effectively with others.
How to Help Your Child at Home:
Ask your child to share with you some of the things that they have learned about the poet William Carlos Williams and what we as a class discussed inspired him to write.
Have your child tell you (later in the week) about which poet they chose to study further. Have them tell you why they chose him/her and explain what research they are finding about this person and possible things or people that might have inspired them.
Math:
This week in math, the students will continue to apply their knowledge of area and perimeter to solve word problems. A large focus has been placed on students drawing out rectangles and labeling them properly to show their work. We have also used square inch tiles, to allow students to physically build these figures. An emphasis has also been placed on solving area and perimeter word problems that contain multiplicative comparisons. Please see some examples below to further help your child at home. The use of manipulatives is very appropriate at this stage of learning, but it is also important for your child to learn how to apply the taught formulas to solving these types of problems.
Area = length x width
Perimeter = length + length + width + width
The students will take their area and perimeter math test on Thursday, August 30th.
How to Help Your Child at Home:
Here are some word problems that you can ask your child at home to further support their learning in school:
A rectangle is 5 times as long as it is wide. It is 6 inches wide. What is the area of the rectangle. Draw a sketch to show this.
A rectangle has a length of 24 inches. That is 6 times longer than its width. What is the width? What is the area?
A rectangle has an area of 48 square inches. It length is 3 times its width. What are its dimensions?
Social Studies/Science:
On Monday, the students will be finishing up their Economics unit in social studies by taking an open notes assessment that will see how well they are able to apply the taught concepts. Starting on Tuesday, the students will start their first science unit with Mrs. Wade. This week, they will begin their first science unit on Rocks & Minerals. They will begin by investigating the properties of minerals. The students will observe minerals in class and collaborate with classmates to communicate about the properties. They will begin to learn vocabulary such as texture, luster, and density.
How to Help Your Child at Home:
At home, students can review properties and other concepts about rocks and minerals on the Science Learning Links page on Mrs. Wade's website.