Thursday, December 21st, 2017

Dear Families,

As we embark on our winter break and prepare for a few weeks off, we hope all of you have the opportunity to spend some wonderful family time together! Enjoy this time to “recharge” and cherish time with your students! We look forward to seeing students back in 2018 with a renewed energy to learn and grow!

Here is what we’ve been working on in each of our content areas:

Reading: 

This week we finished our first module of books under the theme of “finding courage”. Recently, we read two shorter stories during shared reading. The first, called Operation Clean Sweep, was a historical fiction short story that took place during women’s suffrage. The other, a nonfiction short story, detailed the life of Cesar Chavez and his life-long fight for the rights of workers. Both stories prompted some great discussions focused on the issues of injustice and inequality.

Writing: 

Students recently produced a written opinion response based on the following prompt: Should NFL and other sport teams use the names/images of Native American tribes? After reading several articles which presented support for both sides, students had to support their own opinion with text support in a well-written, cohesive response.

Math:
Our work in unit 4 and its focus on multi-digit multiplication continued. Students should now feel confident in utilizing a variety of strategies to multiply. They are getting quite proficient in being able to decide which strategy is most efficient based on the content of the particular problem.

Social Studies:

We continued to learn about the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as how patriotism is shown in our country. After winter break, we will learn about the particular liberties we are fortunate to enjoy in the United States, and contrast these liberties with countries whose citizens suffer without such rights. 

Science:

Our recent learning in science focused on what people can do to protect the Earth’s systems. We studied the different ways individuals, engineers, communities, and governments can protect Earth's systems. In fact, last week we had a fun science investigation where we “mined” for chocolate chips in cookies! The chips represented coal and the cookies represented land in the geosphere that was being damaged by mining. Be sure to ask your student about this fun activity!

Important upcoming dates to remember:

**Thursday, Dec. 21: Last day of school before winter break, winter parties @ 2:00

**Monday, Jan. 8: School resumes

**Monday, Jan.15: No School, Martin Luther King Day


Band Classroom Performance:
Please click on the link below to see our classroom's band students perform!  What a great way to send us off into Winter Break!
Classroom Band Performance

Thank you and have a wonderful Winter Break!

Enzie Pangilinan

Friday, December 1st, 2017

Happy Friday Families!

I hope you and your family enjoyed the Thanksgiving break and the time off together!  Nothing recharges those batteries like spending quality time with family and friends!  

Here are the targets we will focus on as we work through the beginning of the second grading period:

Literacy

* Our students recently wrapped up reading our classroom read-aloud text, The Road to Freedom. The story was narrated from the point of view of a young girl who is traveling on the Underground Railroad with her mother in hopes of making it North to freedom. Our students were highly engaged throughout text and had many great discussions related to topics raised within the story.

Writing

* We are currently using The Road to Freedom as a springboard for various writing samples.  We have practiced writing short-constructed responses and we are currently planning and writing an opinion paper based on topics/issues related to slavery from the book.

Spelling

* Our students are currently working through their Words Their Way spelling program. Most weeks, your child will bring home a new set of words to sort and use for homework tasks.  Each boggle choice sheet is due on Friday with three completed activities.

Math

* We are currently working on multiplying two-digit numbers by three-digit numbers using various strategies.  We will have a check-in next week to assess what we've learned.  Our students will start division at the end of next week and emphasize the partial quotients and long division algorithms to solve these problems.

Social Studies

* Last week we wrapped up our learning about slavery and how it affected the growth of Colonial America.  We will be diving into Government/Civics in the coming weeks and our students will start to discuss the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Science

* Our students covered the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.  We’ve been learning about the attributes and characteristics of each, as well as how they interact with one another.  We are now focusing on determining which of Earth’s systems interact to produce weather and climate.  Students will be creating a diagram and giving a weather report about one of their examples.  Stay tuned for weather news you can use. 

Reminders/Upcoming Events:

** MAP Testing Next Week:

   - Monday, December 4th (Reading)
   - Wednesday, December 6th (Math)
**Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Thank you and have a fantastic weekend!

Enzie Pangilinan