Classroom News for the Week of November 7th

News and Upcoming Events:

• Monday is Orchestra. Remember to bring your instruments.
• Week of 11/7 Parent Conferences. Please use this link to sign-up for a conference Conference Sign-Up. 
• Conference Week Schedule Change- School ends at 12:54 p.m. M, W, TH this week. Tuesday is regular dismissal at 1:34. No lunch will be served at school. Brunch will be served from 10:00-10:30.
• 11/8 Upper Grade Election Day Celebration - Students will spend the day rotating among the 5 upper grade teachers. The will learn about the history of our flag, the electoral college system, characteristics of debate, and much more! Please ask your child about his/her experience. Talk with your child about the election and results. Encourage your child to share his or her opinions in a way that reflects his/her knowledge and intelligence. Many of the children have very strong feelings about both candidates, and we want to support their thinking and discourse by modeling how we can disagree respectfully.
• 11/10 Picture Make-up Day
• 11/11 Veterans Day holiday - school closed
• 11/14 Early Dismissal 12:54
• 11/21-11/25 School Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday

Donate to Our Class: 
We need-

• Cleaning cloths ("wipees") to clean and disinfect our table tops. 
• Swiffer duster refills. Thank you!

 Also-
 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 use the standard algorithm to complete multiplication problems. Students will be solving 3 and 4 digit x 1 digit.

Accelerated Math (Individualized practice)

Reading:

Chaps. 22-25 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 non-fiction text in Scholastic News.

Spelling & Vocabulary:

There will be no words this week.

Writing:

Creative Writing - A Day on Mars

Arts:

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

Project-Based Learning:
Student teams continue working on our class project. 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: Script Writing and Visual Aides
 
Second Step (Social and Emotional Health):
Lesson Big Idea: Understanding Complex Feelings. No home assignment this week.

Social Studies/Science:

Social Studies: European Explorers in California

Earth Science: Rock classification and Fossils

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.