We will continue to focus on area and perimeter this week. The class will also work on problem solving strategies in small groups with me. Our other centers will contain math based projects involving our net books, math fluency, math games, problem solving, and Dream Box. I am looking to test in area and perimeter next Friday.

Science

The students have been working hard on their animal research reports during I/E time and some during science class. We explored the different parts of an egg and did the chicken life cycle! Ask your child to explain these egg parts and their purpose to you at home.

Language Arts

We will begin the story Coyote Places The Stars this week.  Our spelling list will be on Cleveland and the test is this Friday.  Our EOS Test will be next Friday.  Children may complete the activities on the bottom half of the sheet and turn them in on Friday for a Bee Buck.

Thank you for all of your cereal box donations!  The classes are working on their book reports for How To Eat Fried Worms in class:)

Social Studies 

Our Economics test will be this Wednesday.  Children should be reviewing the notes and activities that came home last week with the study guide.  Please let me know if you are missing this so I can help your child locate it and get it home as soon as possible.  The class will receive their Time For Kids this week, but because of the test, please have your child only complete the activities in the magazine and bring to class to review on Friday.  The Economics Fair choice sheet should be returned this Friday and the planning sheet is due the day of the fair, Friday, May 31.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thank you!

We will continue to study types of figurative language this week by reading, interpreting and illustrating idioms.  Our language arts classes will also work on punctuating dialogue and cause and effect.  We will not have a new spelling list or story this week.

Social Studies

We will continue to review and apply terms that we have learned so far including, goods and services, producers and consumers as well as opportunity cost.

Math

This week we will begin our unit in Geometry. Our main focus will be 2 dimensional shapes, symmetry and ordered pairs.

Science

The students will learn about living things in our new chapter. Once this is done your child will know how living things grow and change. Your child will also know how to classify animals, how offspring are like their parents, and about the life cycles of some animals.

Math
We are almost done with our unit on measurement. The class worked on liters and milliliters in the beginning and used water to show the difference between the two. We then moved on to gallons, quarts, pints, and cups and created a Gallon Girl/Guy to help with learning conversions. Next, we worked with grams and kilograms and used our scales to weigh these items and compare what the two look like. Telling time to the minute and elapsed time was our main focus this week. Each student has their own clock to work on these and are doing very well with the concept. We finish the week with measuring to the nearest half inch and quarter inch along with adding the metric system form of measurement. Students will test on this next Tuesday.

Language Arts

**After our science meeting, it has been decided that forms of energy will be taught exclusively in fourth and fifth grade. I have decided not to quiz on the vocabulary terms sent home. The quiz will only be on the following:

Definition on RENEWABLE and three examples.

Definition of NONRENEWABLE and three examples.

Using the yellow flip book is a great resource to study with.

Math

In math this week, we will finish up on fractions. A pretest will come home on Thursday and the test will be on Friday.

]]> http://staff.bbhcsd.org/kucharskie/2013/02/20/weekly-newsletter-17/feed/ 0 http://staff.bbhcsd.org/kucharskie/2013/02/13/weekly-newsletter-16/ http://staff.bbhcsd.org/kucharskie/2013/02/13/weekly-newsletter-16/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:45:24 +0000 Elena Kucharski http://staff.bbhcsd.org/kucharskie/?p=1132 Math
We begin our new unit on fractions this week. Students will learn how to model fractions, use fractions on a number line, identify equivalent fractions and compare fractions.

Science
This week our focus will be on electrical energy. Students will conduct a lab on Tuesday to see if they can control electrical energy. They will use a light bulb, holder, wires and a battery holder to do this. We will also answer the question on how does heat cause motion with a lab containing a lamp and a spiral pattern.

Science
The focus this week is on light and sound energy. Ask your child to share with you what reflection and refraction are and how the spoon “bent” in the water. Later this week we will do activities with sound energy.

Language Arts

For the month of February, students will be researching a president of their choice. We will be working on the research here at school using a variety of resources. If you and your student would like to discuss which president they should research at home, please do so! Otherwise, they are welcome to choose one their own. Research will likely begin next week. Because this is required, the AR choice for the month of February is a free choice.

Our EOS test over Rosie will be on Friday. We will also have a special visit from a therapy dog on Friday, like Rosie! Keanu is a therapy dog for Fairview Hospital and St. John West Shore Hospital. His owner also has dog sledding experience! If you have any reason why you would not like for your student to participate in the visit, kindly let me know!

Social Studies

There will be a timelines quiz next Tuesday. Students may review the timeline terms that are in their red folders as well as any work that was sent home on timelines. Students will need to know the vocabulary terms, and apply the terms while reading a timeline.

After completing this chapter, your child will know about different forms of energy and how energy can change.  Your child will also learn how light and matter interact through reflection, refraction, and absorption; what heat and light energy are; how vibrations make sounds; and how electrical energy moves.

Math

This week we move on to division. Students will learn to understand division as an unknown factor problem.  They will also solve multi-step word problems involving division, including interpreting remainders.

Language Arts

As we begin the second semester, we would like to let you know that we are always available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress.  If you would like to discuss your child’s progress at this time we would be more than happy to schedule a conference.  Please contact us if you would like to set up a time to meet!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kucharski and Mrs. Niedermeyer

 Weekly News:

Language Arts

EOS Test Balto Friday

LA Skills Assessment Tuesday (common, proper, singular and plural nouns, homophones, writing a summary, identify main idea and detail).  We will complete a pretest in class tomorrow.

Math

Test Next Wednesday

Science

We are working on forms of energy!

Social Studies

Thank you for gathering and sending in your child’s timeline pictures.  We appreciate your support!

This week the class will continue to work on a study guide for soil. This guide along with the science book will come home on Tuesday. The test will now be on Friday. Please spend Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday reviewing lessons 1-4 on pages 66-94. We have highlighted the important parts.

 Math

Students will work on 3, 4, and multiples of 10 this week. The class works in small groups throughout the week. Many students are doing so well on their multiplication that they are moving on to cross multiplication with several digits! We will also work on problem solving with the use of tables this week.

 Language Arts

We will be reading Balto, The Dog Who Saved Nome this week in class.  “Dear 2013,” will be our writing prompt for this week as the students set an academic goal and brainstorm three ways they plan on reaching this goal.    Students will also be working on homographs and using them in their writing. 

A few students have decided to try to complete a Skills Challenge of the Week that was distributed in class to interested students only.  This is optional and completed challenges may be turned in on Friday for a Bee Buck.

Coming home today is an optional AR challenge and can be found on a blue sheet of paper.  This would be in addition to the genre of the month.  The genre for the month of January is realistic fiction.

 Spelling Test 1/11

EOS Balto Test 1/18

 Social Studies

Making and reading timelines will be the focus of our lessons this week.  Students will be introduced to the following terms:

• Years
• Decades
• Centuries
• Chronological order
• Timeline.

Thank you for sending in the timeline photos for WednesdayJ

Test information

Starting in third grade, students are expected to begin the process of applying what they have learned in class. Study guides are provided as a guidance as to the topics that will be tested on. The class will be expected to take this material and apply what they have learned. For example, we may say that know what a sedimentary rock is and give the definition in a study guide. On the test, the students will be asked to describe how to make a sedimentary rock like we did in a lab in the classroom. They will then be asked to describe how it is different from an igneous or metamorphic rock using examples.