Weekly Newsletter, October 22 to 26, 2012

red ribbon week – Oct. 22-26
LES will be participating in Red Ribbon week, October 22 -26.  The annual Red Ribbon Week began in 1988 and commemorates the life of Enrique (Kiki) Camarena, a drug enforcement agent, who died in the fight against drugs.  As news of the tragedy spread across the country, groups of parents joined Mrs. Camarena in her vow to help America remember her husband’s death. The Red Ribbon became a symbol to eliminate the demand for drugs as the Red Ribbon became the annual catalyst to show intolerance to an environment where alcohol and other drugs erode the potential of our youth.  We must all recognize that to stop the violence, we must eliminate the demand.  To eliminate the demand, we must mobilize every community, every town, every neighborhood and every family to work toward a drug free America.

MONDAY – OCT. 22 –“United We Stand Against Drugs” Wear red white or blue in honor of Red Ribbon Week. On Monday, the pledge will be read over the announcements.

TUESDAY – OCT. 23 – “Sock It To Drugs” Wear crazy mismatched socks.

WEDNESDAY- OCT. 24 “Team Up against Drugs” Wear your favorite team jersey.

THURSDAY- OCT. 25 “Smarties Don’t Do Drugs” Wear your favorite college colors – hat jersey or combo.  Smarties will be given to each student.

FRIDAY- OCT. 26 “Plant the Promise” Kindergarten Students will plant a red tulip bulb. “Put a Cap on Drugs” Grades 1-5 wear favorite baseball cap or hat.

 

 

Writing:
During Quarter 1, we will focus on writing personal narratives. Our focus is to write for our reader.

This week: Our focus will shift to publishing and presenting our personal narratives.  By now, students have taken a piece of writing through the stages of the writing process (Prewriting, Revising our PreWrite to choose an idea, Drafting, Self Revising, Partner Revising, Self Editing, Partner Editing, Teacher Conference) and are ready to publish.  Students have the option of using technology to publish or to hand write their work.
Depending on your child's class, we will hold "Publishing Celebrations" at various times during the week.  Students will join in small groups to hear personal narratives presented.

A link to a website for information on the 6 Traits of writing is below:
http://www.edina.k12.mn.us/concord/teacherlinks/sixtraits/sixtraits.htm

Life Science:
We will continue to learn how plants and animals are interdependent. Our focus will also shift to understanding what the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is, what states are included, and how communities within the watershed affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Our field trip to the Agricultural Farm will take place this Friday October 26. We will spend the day learning the effects of agriculture, pollution, and fishing have on the Bay.
Thank you to the many parents who volunteered to accompany us on the trip. All parents are welcome to join us on the trip. Due to the limited number of seats on a bus, it may be necessary for some of our volunteers to drive their own cars/carpool. If you signed up to join us, please let your child's teacher know if you are able to meet us there or if you need transportation on the school bus. 

Looking Ahead:  We will finish our science quarter with a cooperative learning activity to examine how different groups of people affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
We will study Social Studies during quarters 2 & 3.  We will resume science in quarter 4.

Math 5:
Students will investigate the concepts of positive and negative numbers (integers) through the use of number lines, thermometers and diagrams and we will review next week all concepts that have been taught in preparation for the Unit 1 test on October 22^nd.

Unit 2 Overview:
Mathematics is the study of patterns and relationships. In this unit, students analyze the characteristics and relationships of geometric shapes and structures. They examine properties of basic plane figures and explore the properties of three-dimensional figures by applying their knowledge of two-dimensional figures.
Geometry deals with the properties of well-defined sets of points. In Grade 4, students compared and classified figures according to these properties as they developed geometric vocabulary and symbolic representation. In this unit, students use tools such as computer software, compasses, rulers, and protractors to draw geometric figures. They extend their knowledge of vocabulary and concepts related to circles. Many Grade 5 students are able to move developmentally from analysis of plane figures (e.g., A rectangle has four sides and four right angles.), to informal deduction (e.g., Since a square has four sides and four right angles, then a square must be a rectangle).
The concepts of solid geometry help us describe and represent our three-dimensional world. Students begin identifying solids in kindergarten and each year they extend and refine their understanding. In Grade 5, students use what they have learned about the properties of solid figures and the relationships of plane to solid figures to compare and classify solid shapes.
The understandings that the students develop in this unit provide a foundation for their work in Math A on combining and dividing geometric shapes, making two- and three-dimensional models, and developing and using formulas for perimeter and area of polygons.

Math 4:
*Recognize and apply place value patterns in numbers through millions.
• Organize, display, and analyze data using line plots and line graphs.
• Determine and distinguish among mean, median, mode, and range, using concrete materials.
• Classify angles as acute, obtuse, or right.
• Identify and describe the sides, angles, edges, vertices's, and faces of solid figures.
• Draw circles, triangles, and quadrilaterals given their dimensions. *Identify and describe points, lines, line segments, and rays.

This week we will focus on creating line plots, determining what type of graph to use to display data, and finding the mean of a set of data.

Mode: the number that appears most often in a set of data
Range: the difference between the maximum and minimum numbers in a set of data
Median: the number that divides the data in half when all numbers are arranged in sequence
Mean:  the sum of a set of numbers divided by the number of numbers in the set (often referred to as finding the average)
*Students will have a math quiz each Friday on skills covered in the unit to that point.
*Looking Ahead: Unit Test November 1 & 2. 

A great website that allows students to work at their own pace on word problems/real world application of multiplication & division:
http://www.thinkingblocks.com/

We continue to use the Khan academy website to help practice our math at home. This is a great site where students (if a log in is created) can track their progress and have example problems to work on. It has been featured in CNN as an up and coming way for teachers to assess individual students learning.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

Reading:
Our focus for the next two weeks will be using the visualization strategy to monitor our understanding when reading. This strategy involves making a mental movie as you are reading/listening to text. Last week we shared many stories and had students sketch pictures of what the images are in their heads based on the author's details. This led us to our small group work in our novels to point out where authors are creating visualizations for the reader.

Suggested Books for Visualization:
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Abel's Island
A Cricket in Times Square
The Castle in the Attic
The People in Pineapple Place
Matilda
The Flying Dragon Room

Spelling:
*Our spelling program involves the use of developmental word study rather than traditional spelling books. This“Words Their Way” approach allows students to practice target spelling patterns that best address their individual needs as a speller.
*Our next spelling test will be on November 2.