Let Us Remind You- Nov. 16-20

Dear Room 20 & 21 parents and students,

Welcome back Mr. Roels! As you know, the end of the trimester was on Friday, and teachers are currently working on report cards. This is the perfect time to have a discussion with your child about the goals that were set earlier in the year. It's the opportunity for the students to become self reflective and yet have guidance and input from you. How are they doing? Has there been progress? What steps have been taken at home and at school to meet the goals? For the goals that have been met, what are some new levels of success that can be reached?

Just a quick reminder that our blogsite addresses are:

Room 20 (Scourkes) http://rockhopperroom20.blogspot.com
Room 21 (Roels) http://gtfroom22.blogspot.com

Curriculum:

Language Arts

In Language Arts, we are working on writing organized, multi-paragraph essays. Students will use their knowledge of basic paragraph structure to expand and create a longer, more detailed, multi-paragraph writing. Students will be further introduced to the Accelerated Reader program and we will continue to focus on the comprehension of non-fiction literature in addition to fictional stories.

Math

In 4th grade math, we are continuing our work on division, focusing on division rules, estimated quotients to check problem-solving, and the relationship between multiplication and division. As always, we continue to work on expressing ourselves using mathematical terminology in our Problem of the Day activity.

In 5th grade math, we will be introducing the multiplication of fractions with both fractional parts and mixed numbers. Students will continue to work on explaining their thinking and strengthening their problem solving skills.

Social Studies

Students took thier geography test of the Middle Atlantic States last Thursday. Most students did well. Please be watching for this to come home for a parent signature. Also coming home this week are the Native American tests, which will also need a parent signature. The grades consist of a points score for objective questions, and 3 separate rubric scores for paragraph format answers. We've gone over the answers in class, talked about expectations, and shared models of the different scores. Your child should clearly be able to explain their scores. Last week, we started our unit on explorers. Students are learning about events that are occurring in Europe and Asia that influenced the explorers to begin their voyages all over the world. What an exciting time in history!

Science

In class, we are working in small cooperative groups to produce posters detailing the three phases of the water cycle. We're having a friendly "competition" to see which of our groups produces the most informative, eye-catching poster about evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Each phase of the cycle will have its own "winner", chosen by our celebrity judge- ME! Ask your student how it's going so far; they really seem to be working well together in class. Since we will start a new science unit after Thanksgiving break, please feel free to reread classroom book materials at home to reinforce our students understanding of the material in this current unit.

Calendar of Events:

Mon., November 16: Lawrence Hall of Science Assembly
Tues., November 17: Math Olympiads 12:30
Wed., November 18: 5th Grade Unit 4 test on fractions


MYSTERY STATE CLUES:

This state has 663 miles of beaches.
With a population of about 16 million people, this state has the fourth-largest population in the United States.
Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon came to this state looking for a "fountain of youth."
The space shuttles launch from this state.
Walt Disney World and Epcot Center are in this state.
Which state is it?



Sincerely,

Mr. Roels and Miss Scourkes
Rooms 20 & 21
Rockhopper Village
Portal School