Smith Spokesman 10.13.11

Parent’s Corner

   WANTED:

• Pennies for science experiments
• Egg cartons – clean, empty, 1 dozen size
• Raffle Basket items – gardening theme

                         

Coming Up…

Friday, October 14^th – No School, 3-day weekend

Wednesday, October 19^th – 2 Hour Late Opening Friday, October 21^st – Carnival!

MATH:  Volume 1, Unit 1

“Connecting Mathematical Topics”     

This unit addressed all strands of elementary mathematics – number, computation, geometry, algebraic thinking, measurement, and data analysis – while introducing some of the major skills, concepts, visual models, and manipulatives students will use throughout the year.  Unit 1 “Post Assessment” (final) was on Wednesday.  Thursday we began Volume 1, Unit 2 “Seeing & Understanding Multi-Digit Multiplication & Division.”  The goal of this unit is to be successful in multiplying and dividing multi-digit numbers.

                     

WRITING:  Students begin to learn routines and procedures of Writing Workshop.  Lessons begin on how to organize their Little Red Writing Notebook along with how and what to write.  Students will write their drafts on the right side of their notebooks and reserve the left side for revisions, edits and feedback.  In this unit on Personal Narratives, students may start a variety of narrative pieces but finish only one or two. 

SCIENCE:  Variables Unit

Strand:  Scientific reasoning and technology

Investigation 1:  Swingers!  We actually performed experiments with variables, pendulums, mass, and complete cycles.  As students gathered data and displayed it graphically, they began to observe relationships in their data.  Relationships are powerful because they are predictive.  Next week we begin Investigation 2:  Lifeboats.

SOCIAL STUDIES:  Geography of the U.S.

In our next phase of social studies, we will be using maps to learn about differences in region to region in the United States.  We’ll learn how various regions may be defined by cultural characteristics, climate, or landforms.  We also began our quest to learn the locations of the 50 United States by making a study map of the northeastern states.  Students should carry this map in their homework calendars for a quick study each night.  We’ll take a quiz on these states on Friday of next week. 

ART:  No time, short week  L

LITERACY:  Unit 2 “Doing the Right Thing” 

What makes people want to do the right thing?      

Week 1:  “Inside Out” A young boy helps a bully.  Why does Francisco do what he does at the end of the story?

The story “Inside Out” by Francisco Jiménez is about a boy named Francisco who goes to school for the first time. At home he speaks Spanish. When he is at school has a hard time learning English and often does not understand what is going on. The story is also about accepting people for who they are. Over the course of the story, Francisco’s classmates learn to accept him for who he is.

Genre:  Realistic fiction deals with characters and actions that seem real but come from the author’s imagination.

Skill:  compare and contrast

Strategy:  answer questions