Classroom News for the Week of October 24th

News and Upcoming Events: 

• Thank you to all the parents who chaperoned and made Friday's trip to the Botanical Gardens a success. Your time and energy is appreciated!
• Orchestra is every Monday. Remember to bring your instruments.
• Tardies: Our class has been accumulating many tardies during the last couple of weeks. Please help your child to be at school and in line by the 8:06 bell. Thank you!
• This week is Red Ribbon Week. Students received a red flyer with ideas of how they can participate each day. Use this opportunity to talk with your child about making healthy choices.
• 10/31 Halloween Parade 1:15p.m. Students can bring costumes in a bag. If you would like to assist students in getting ready, come to the class at 12:50p.m.
• Week of 11/7 Parent Conferences. Please use this link to sign-up for a conference Conference Sign-Up. Please note school ends at 12:54 p.m. M, W, TH this week. Tuesday is regular dismissal at 1:34 and Friday we are off for the Veterans' Day holiday.
• Last week was our last week with visual art teacher, Katherine Ng. This week we begin working with Enrich LA for our garden program.  Students will be working in the garden on Fridays.

Donate to Our Class: We are in need of printer ink. If you would like to help out, 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 be solving multiple step word problems involving area and perimeter and looking at patterns in multiplication.

Accelerated Math (Individualized practice)

Reading:

Chaps. 13-17 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.

Reading informational text; Comparing Fiction and Non-Fiction sources

Genre Blackout: 2 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 -

irregular
illogical
irreplaceable
nonconformist
nonexistent
unquestionable
unruly
unlimited
unrest
unrelenting 

Tip: These words are tough! Practice breaking the word up into its prefix, base word, and suffix when spelling.

Writing:

Publishing and sharing our writing.

Arts:

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

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

Second Step (Social and Emotional Health):
Lesson Big Idea: Listening with attention helps you learn, work with others, and make friends. There will be a short home assignment on Thursday evening for you to complete with your child.

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.