Weekly Newsletter, September 9 to 13, 2013

Social Studies
Our focus this week will continue to be all about decision-making. Students will work together to brainstorm class ground rules and develop a list of jobs/responsibilities of all stakeholders (parents, teachers, and students). 
We will also look at geographic characteristics of Maryland to help us determine Native American settlement patterns.  By analyzing the natural resources of Maryland, we will justify why various Native people chose to settle in the places they did and examine the pros and cons.

Math
Our focus in math will continue to be to read and write numbers to the millions period.  We will study three place value periods (ones, thousands, and millions) and analyze the value of each digit.  During weeks one and two we've noticed that students need additional practice reading and writing numbers to the millions period (hundred millions, ten millions, and millions).  Please encourage your child to read and write numbers to the millions period in number/standard form, word form, and expanded notation.  We will continue to reinforce this in class so that students will be able to compare numbers during the next weeks. 

We will be flexible in our thinking about place value and flexible in the ways we write numbers.  For example, when we have 70 tens, we really have the number 700.  The value of the number does not change but we can represent in many different ways. 

Questions we will ask: How does thinking about a number in standard form help you interpret the same number when written in expanded form?  What strategy helps you determine a number that is 2,000 more than this number?  How can we compare two numbers by looking at the placement of each digit?

Our goal is to have weekly quizzes on Fridays.  Math homework will be assigned Monday through Thursday to reinforce concepts students are learning in their small groups that week.  If your child is frustrated by the homework and unable to determine a strategy for completion, please write a note on the paper and we will review with him/her the following day.

In addition, students should be practicing their basic facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication) each night.  Students must be fluent in all four operations by the end of this year.

Over the next two weeks, students will be taking the Measures of Academic Progress Math (MAP-M) so that we can get baseline data to help us meet the needs of each student.  Later in the month we will take this computerized assessment for Reading as well.

Reading/Writing/Inquiry Project
In week 3 students will engage in reading a Junior Great Books realistic fiction selection to compare similar themes in text.  During this block, students will learn routines and ground rules for collaborative discussions.

Each day students will practice what is taught in the mini-lesson in their guided reading group.  Teachers will continue to complete reading assessments with students to gain an accurate reading levels to form groups.  This week we will use the story "The Gold Coin" by Alma Flor Ada to note the extent to which each student is able to use text evidence to make inferences.  We will be looking for places in the text where Juan (main character) sees or does something that demonstrates a change.  We will also use a vocabulary web to analyze a specific passage from the story to determine key vocabulary.

In writing/media students will begin to explore the impact a character has on the telling of a story.  By week 5, students will be working to draft their own historical fiction stories.  Through our flexible media center time, students will have many options for final products.  In class last week students wrote an introductory paragraph to analyze the effect a character had on the plot in their novel.  This week we will work on the body of this essay.  We will include a main idea sentence that states the reason for our opinion of our character followed by text evidence.  We will look at an example character analysis to notice how an author uses linking words to show the relationship between his/her opinion and the reasons/evidence from the text.

Science
During this marking period we will study ecosystems, particularly the Chesapeake Bay.  We are asking for 2 Liter bottles so that we can make Eco-columns to house our animals and plants for observation.  If you are able to donate, please rinse the bottle (warm water, no soap), peel the labels, and send in the bottles with your child.  Students will learn the criteria for a good  habitat.  They will also learn the distinct characteristics of plants and animals.  This week we will use the engineering design process to determine the best living conditions for our plants and animals.  We will also build a terrarium to begin growing plants for our insects to eat.  Look for our live animals to be delivered the week of September 16.