Classroom News for the Week of October 17th

News and Upcoming Events: 

• Orchestra is every Monday. Remember to bring your instruments.
• 10/12 Unassigned Day - No School.
• 10/21 Field trip to Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens. Please turn in your trip slip right away. Students and chaperones should bring: a small snack (something that can be eaten quickly right off the bus such as a granola bar), lunch with water (students can bring reusable lunch bags and containers), wear your field trip T-shirt, and dress appropriately for the weather as we will be outside all day.  
• Week of 11/7 Parent Conferences. A sign up genius link will be posted on the blog the week of 10/24. Make sure to sign up for a conference.

Donate to Our Class: Use this link to shop for items for our classroom on Amazon. You can have items sent directly to the school c/o Ms. Convey. Please be sure to include your name, so I can thank you!  Ms. Convey's Class Supplies

What's Going On This Week In Class:

Math: 

This week we will conclude out unit on the metric system. Students will be assessed on Tuesday. We will begin a new unit on area, perimeter, multiplication, and division. 

Accelerated Math (Individualized practice)

Reading:

Chaps. 10-13 of Scott O'Dells Newbery-Award winning book, Island of the Blue Dolphins. This historical fiction book ties in with our current social studies unit on the geography of California. We will be using Depth and Complexity icons to help us dig deeper into the text.

Scholastic News; Comparing Fiction and Non-Fiction sources

Genre Blackout: 3 weeks left! Students have been challenged to read books from 9 different genres in the first reporting period. Ask your child about his/her progress. 

Spelling & Vocabulary:

This week's words are -

• interior
• intersection
• international
• interval
• intermediate
• telemarket
• telescope
• telephoto
• televise
• telethon

Tip: Spend 10 minutes verbally studying the words each day. Research suggests that studying for small periods regularly is more effective than cramming. In addition to having your child spell the word aloud, ask your child to use the word in an imaginative sentence. You can pick a "theme" for the sentences, such as Halloween or the Desert…"Give me a sentence with 'collide' that has to do with Halloween." This can provide some challenge and novelty to a routine task.

Writing:

Publishing and sharing our writing.

Arts:

Using the Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) to build meaning from visual text.

Positive and Negative Space

Project-Based Learning:
Student teams will be working on a weeks-long project in class. Our driving question is: What makes our state special? Students have received a letter from the California Director of Tourism asking them to research a particular area of California and create a 2 to 3 minute presentation designed to encourage visitors to visit that region. Ask your child about the project and check the blog frequently for presentation dates. This interdisciplinary project addresses standards for research and inquiry, speaking, language arts, visual literacy, social studies, and science.

Lesson Focus: Note-taking vs. Plagerizing; Finding Appropriate Sources

Social Studies/Science:

Social Studies: Native Californians

Earth Science: Geology - Erosion

Reminders:

Tardies:

 Please make sure your child is at school and in line by the 8:06 bell. We try to start the school day at 8:11 promptly. Thank you for your help!

Homework:

Please check your child's Homework Log nightly and sign or initial after the work has been completed. Remind your child that completed homework and the HW log are due in class daily.