Happy Sunday Families!
Happy December! I hope that everyone had a wonderful, restful Thanksgiving break! Included within this week's email that was sent, there is a family letter regarding our upcoming unit in math, which focuses on multi-digit multiplication. We also have MAP testing this week, starting with Reading tomorrow, Monday, December 5th.
As we begin to wrap up 2022, here's what's going on within our classroom!
Literacy
This week, our shared text featured an excerpt of the novel, Hatchet. The text tells the story of Brian, a thirteen-year-old boy, who encounters a completely unexpected and unfortunate event that leaves him stranded in the Canadian wilderness to survive by himself with nothing but a hatchet. Using Hatchet, we discussed Brian's thoughts, actions, and feelings in order to analyze the challenges he faced and determine the overall theme. We also practiced our summarizing skills by identifying the main events and character responses in the text.
Writing
Our analytical writing focuses on the students' opinions of what type of class pet we should get. After researching, students have been utilizing graphic organizers to organize information into reasons and evidence that support their animal. We will be practicing more with writing an engaging introduction, keeping our body paragraphs clear and organized, and writing strong conclusions. Ask your student which class pet they chose and why!
Math
We wrapped up our math unit on decimals and place values by reviewing learned concepts and taking the end of unit assessment. The Unit 3 targets included reading/writing decimals, comparing decimals, rounding decimals, and adding/subtracting decimals. Our upcoming unit encompasses mulit-digit multiplication. Students will be learning how to use the standard algorithm to multiply. In Number Corner, we will measure our height and feet length within inches. Throughout the month of December, we will regularly plot the data onto a line plot. We will also be plotting the data onto a scatter plot to analyze the correlation between height and foot length.
Science
We are beginning to get deeper into our unit about the Earth's systems. We have learned about Earth’s four systems (biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere). We will be analyzing how farming and industries negatively impact those four systems. We also discussed ways that people could protect the Earth, which involves the conservation of resources, such as fossil fuels.
Upcoming Events
Monday, December 5th- MAP Testing
Tuesday, December 6th- MAP Testing
Tuesday, December 13th - Early Release (Dismissal @ 2:05pm)
Friday, December 23rd - Sunday, January 8th - Winter Break
Friendly Reminders
As winter weather approaches, please make sure your student is properly dressed for recess.
Please remind your student to charge his/her iPad and Logitech Crayon every night.
Orchestra & Band Parents: Please make sure your students have their instrument on assigned days.
Please remember to send your student with a healthy snack - nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!
Please continue to have your student practice their multiplication facts up to 12.
