Classroom News for the Week of October 22nd

News and Upcoming Events: 

Parent conferences begin the week of November 5th. Please click on the the link below to choose a slot for your child's conference. Please make note of your selected time. An email reminder will be sent a few days prior. No paper notice will be sent home.
Parent Conference Sign -up

10/22 - Return empty Friday folders; Orchestra students - bring your instruments.

10/26 - Science Quiz - Study notes came home 10/19; Festival of the Howlin' Wolves 5:30 p.m.

10/31 - Halloween Parade 1:00 p.m.

11/5- 11/9 - Parent Conference Week - School ends at 12:54 p.m each day this week except Tuesday's 1:34 dismissal.

11/12 - Veteran's Day- no school

11/13- Reflections entries due

Items Needed: We are in the process of designing and making props for the class play. We would love to have the following items donated by this Wednesday 10/24.

• gold foil
• Acrylic paint: Gold, white
• 3 feet of thick rope

More Items Needed: Do you have any of the following to donate to the class for an upcoming design/engineering challenge? If so, please send the item with your child by Friday 10/26. Thank you!

• balsa wood scraps
• crafting or florist wire

What's Going On This Week In Class:

Math: 

Perimeter and area; Interim math assessment - this assessment mirrors the format of the spring SBAC test and assesses students' progress in number and operations in base 10.

Reading:

Chapters 12-20 of Scott O'Dell's Newbery-Award winning book, Island of the Blue Dolphins. We will be using Depth and Complexity icons to help us dig deeper into the text.

Genre Blackout: Students are challenged to read books from 9 different genres in the first reporting period. Ask your child about his or her progress.

Accelerated Reader: Students have reflected on their AR points and habits from grade 3 and have made a new, individualized goals. Ask your child about his/her yearlong goal.

Looking for great books to read with your child? Check out the list of Newbery winners from 2006 on:
Newbery Winners. 

(Caldecott's are awarded for illustration)

Writing:

Writer's Workshop: The Arc of A Story. Publishing our stories.

Spelling & Vocabulary:

This week's words are -

• multipurpose
• multimedia
• multitude
• polygon
• polyhedron
• embellish
• engulf
• immigrate
• influence
• inhibit

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.

Social Studies/ Science:
Native Californians; Science quiz

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 region 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 state standards for research and inquiry, speaking, reading, writing, visual literacy, social studies, and science.

Lesson Focus: Notetaking, citing sources, developing focused research questions

Arts:

Drama with Ms. Beret on Wednesday- Workshopping ideas for our class play.

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.