Weekly Updates 2/22-2/26

NEWS/EVENTS

• Our African dance performance is in two days (Thursday February 25th at 8:50!- this is our "Family Thursday for the month) and the kids are so excited. A few reminders-
  • Tomorrow is a dress rehearsal first and second periods. Students should report directly to the auditorium. Please have students bring the same outfits they are wearing on Thursday to school tomorrow. Our assigned costumes:
    
    
    • Dance of the earth attire will be red and brown . Any type of shirt / pants are ok.
    • Girls should have a LAPA / sarong wrap / scarf around their waste preferably brown or red but can be another color as well ( close to that color palette if possible ) 
    • boys should have a head band / bandana tied around their head ( ninja turtle / samurai style ) 
• If you have not yet signed up for parent teacher conferences next week, please visit http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4babab2aa6fa7-spring to find a time.
• Several families have still not returned portfolios. Please send these back ASAP as we are stuffing them with updated student work by the end of the week.
• Several students have still not turned in completed published Opinion Writing Pieces. Please submit them ASAP as I would like to include them in portfolios.

HOMEWORK

Monday- Read and jot for 30 minutes, select a reading response to include in your portfolio and complete the reflection to accompany your work, write words into categories in your word study notebook.
              Humble: Sort 8
              Determined: Sort 32
              Ambitious: Sort 31

Tuesday- Read and jot for 30 minutes, math group HW, remember to bring in clothes for African Dress Rehearsal

Wednesday- Read and jot for 30 minutes, math group HW, word study practice pages (following sort #), African performance is tomorrow!

Thursday- Read and jot for 30 minutes, math group HW, glue words into word study notebook, study for spelling test.

Friday- Math group HW and reading response

CURRICULUM

• Reading- For the next two weeks we are engaging in a Mystery Book Clubs "mini" unit. During this time we will revisit and reflect on everything we know about fiction books (story elements) and use that to collect evidence and clues to solve mysteries. This week we are sharpening our skills to grow ideas and make predictions.
• Writing- We are also engaging in a two week "mini" unit of poetry writing. During this time students will immerse themselves in rich examples of poetry. After visiting centers to tap into their senses, students will write after brainstorming and finding inspiration. Next week we will look closely at specific strategies like using metaphor, simile, alliteration, and other ways to play with words and space.
• Math-Today we launched our next math unit- fractions. During this unit students will once again meet with math groups to study unit fractions, equivalent fractions, compare and contrast numbers on a number line, and solve real world problems.
• Social Studies- This week we are wrapping up our Nigeria unit with a notetaking performance task and a last round of center visits.

Spring Special Schedule

Monday- Science (6th)

Tuesday- Art (7th)

Wednesday- Dance (3rd)

Thursday- Science (6th)

Friday- Gym/Swim (1st- on family Friday days it will be 4th)

Weekly Updates 2/1-2/5

NEWS/EVENTS

• This Friday is Family Friday! Our focus this week is area. We are asking families to help students create floor plans. It will be a lot of fun, and students will have the opportunity to practice the many strategies they have learned for calculating area and perimeter.
• Next Friday we are going to the Central Park Zoo as a culminating activity for our research book club unit. the cost of this trip is $5.00 for students and $10.50 for chaperones. Please indicate on the field trip slip if you are interested in joining us! Slips and fees are due Tuesday, but will be accepted through Friday morning.
• There is no school next Monday 2/8 due to the observance of Chinese New Year.
• The annual box top collection fundraiser is taking place. Students should place box tops on the provided sheet, and should be either glued or taped into place at home.
• This year I am participating in a Digital Literacy specialty group at Teachers College, and I am excited to try some new tech related ideas with the kids. Please take a moment to fill out a 30 second survey about student access to technology at home. This will help me with my planning!
• February break is the week of 2/13-2/21.
• Our African Dance performance will be our "Family Friday" event for February. The performance is on Thursday 2/25 at 8:50 am.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, categorize new words in Word Study notebook, math group HW, practice African Dance 2 times

          Humble: Sort 7

          Determined: Sort 31

          Ambitious: Sort 30

Tuesday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, have parents sign spelling test from last week, math group HW, practice African Dance 2 times

Wednesday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, select a word study menu option, math group HW, practice African Dance 2 times

Thursday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, glue words into categories in purple word study workbook and study for spelling test, math hw from regular classroom teacher, practice African Dance 2 times

Friday: Reading response and math group HW

CURRICULUM

Reading- This week students will dive into the second bend of our research book club nonfiction unit. Within this cycle students will apply what they know about researching to another animal topic, but this time with more independence. Students are still practicing book club strategies using a variety of "talk tools" to get the conversation going.

Writing- After selecting a "seed idea" (an opinion claim to be taken through the writing process) students will work on organizing and categorizing information. They will continue to integrate word choice to evoke emotion from readers.

Math- With only a little over a week left in our multiplication and area unit, over the next days student will understand how to tackle word problems asking for perimeter and area, and will plan how to solve problems where composite shapes miss certain dimensions. Students will cycle through review centers to work on areas of weakness.

Social Studies- This week we will explore some of the multimodal feature of interactive texts (hyperlinks, infographics, images, video) as we continue to rotate through centers focusing on Nigeria. We are starting to discuss how resources often lead to economic and political tension in an area (how oil impacts the region, among other resources).