Classroom Update - Week of September 17th

Updates/Reminders

• Saturday, September 22nd is our first Saturday School make-day from the hurricane. Arrival will be at normal time (between 8:45-9:15) and school will dismiss at 12:45. Please email me if your child's transportation home will be different than usual (there will be no YMCA this day or daycare buses). There will be no lunch, recess, or specials that day, as the primary focus will be on instruction. Please make sure to send your child to school with a healthy snack.

• Friday, September 28th is FULL School Day. This is a make-up day from the hurricane.

• Track Out Day for Quarter One is Friday, September 28th.

• Mark your calendars for MES's Fall Festival on Friday, September 28th from 6-9PM.

• We will track back in on Monday, October 22nd. First Quarter report cards will go home on Friday, October 26th

E.L. Education:

This week, the students will work on finishing their first literary essay on what inspired their expert poet. They will be focusing on writing their concluding paragraphs that will have them making connections to Love That Dog and their own favorite poems by the poet. Later this week, the students will be brainstorming and trying on ideas for their own original poems. Their homework will be directly related to this, as well. They will also focus on revising and editing their poems to make them more descriptive and emotional.

How to Help Your Child at Home:

• Help your child in brainstorming important topics to write poems about.

• Encourage your child to use figurative language (similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, imagery) in the poems that they write.

• Support your child at home by offering helpful feedback on how to make their poems stronger by including more description or emotion.

Math:

This week in math the students will continue to work on adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers using the standard algorithm. The students will start the week by reviewing the different methods for subtraction with regrouping, then by Wednesday, they will solely focus on the standard algorithm. They will also cover concepts such as subtracting across zeros and using estimation to solve real world problems. This unit will continue into next week with a greater focus put on multi-step word problems. They will take their final math assessment on Thursday, September 27th.

How to Help Your Child at Home: ​

• Help your child add and subtract larger number using the standard algorithm (the universal method that I'm sure we were all taught) especially focusing on regrouping and ungrouping numbers.

• Ensure that your child has their addition and subtraction fast facts memorized (so they do not have to count on their fingers).

Science:

This week in science, we will be reviewing all concepts and preparing for their Rocks & Minerals test. The key questions to be studied are:

• What is a mineral? What properties help us to identify minerals? Give examples. For instance, luster can be dull, shiny, glassy, etc. Also, we can categorize luster as opaque, translucent, and transparent.

• What is the difference between a rock and mineral?

• What are the three types of rocks? How are they formed?

• What is a fossil?

• What do fossils reveal about animals and plants of the past? (This is in the student notes. Additional examples could be researched.)

How to Help Your Child at Home: ​

Some of the key links from Mrs. Wade's website are below:

• https://www.dkfindout.com/us/earth/rocks-and-minerals/

• http://www.mineralogy4kids.org/?q=mineral-properties

• http://www.mineralogy4kids.org/?q=rock-cycle

• https://www.dkfindout.com/us/dinosaurs-and-prehistoric-life/fossils/what-is-fossil/