WEEK OF FEBRUARY 25- FEBRUARY 28
Monday/Tuesday, March 4th/5th .........CONFERENCES
Friday March 8.............................Half day of school- Dismissal is at 11:40-no lunch
Saturday, March 16 ....................Everything For Kids Sale 9:00-2:00
Monday March 18....................... PTO Meeting
CONFERENCES: I look forward to visiting with you at conferences. Remember that you child is welcome to come along!! Most students have a brief iMovie to share with you! If your child cannot come or you want a conference with me without your child, you can view their iMovie on the website later.
RED CROSS: We had some people from the Red Cross come and talk about being safe at home alone. Examples of things they discussed:
* Don't use the stove, knives, etc. just in case!
*Do not tell people who call that your parents aren't home-
or just don't answer unless it is someone you know well!
* Don't give anyone, including friends garage code number or
tell where the key is hidden!
* Do not let anyone into the house unless it's people your parents
have said are OK- even neighbors we don't know well shouldn't
be let in.
* Adults DO NOT need a kid's help- if someone you don't know asks for your help, ignore and walk away, say you have to go home and leave, etc.
Kids often know what they should or shouldn't do, but it is very important to help them have the words they would say in a situation as well.
March is Reading Month: Your child received a bookmark with reading activities. Choose at least 5. I'm doing it to!
Math: I'm going to give you A LOT of information here!
I would like to give the Chapter 8 math test next Friday. I will keep you posted if that changes. We have been continually reviewing concepts as we add in others.
The most difficult concepts for kids is keeping straight the difference between multiplying and dividing fractions and whole numbers.When you and I were growing up, we just memorized the math algorithm and moved on- and a lot of us have a hard time with fractions even as adults. Students are expected to be able to perform the algorithm (the math part!), draw what it looks like, explain what they are doing, and apply it in a word problem (real life situation) - this is how they will be tested in 2 years in math and we all need to prepare for it.
Math for kids and parents: These tutorials are something you may want to hang onto for next year if you find them helpful.
When dividing fractions think: "How many ___ go into ___?"
Ex: -->4 ÷ ½ > How many 1/2's are in 4? This tutorial will explain.
http://learnzillion.com/lessons/1042-divide-whole-numbers-by-unit-fractions-using-the-multiplicative-inverse
Ex:
-->½ ÷ 4 > you are dividing 1/2's into 4 sections. (NOT the same as the above)
When multiplying fractions, think "Fraction OF a number."
CLICK BELOW FOR THE LINK:
Multiply a whole number x a fraction
This is a tutorial for multiplying a fraction x a fraction: (2/3 x 2/3)
CLICK BELOW FOR THE LINK:
*It would be helpful to have your child practice a few of these each week!
Multiply: 3 digits by 2 digits such as 457 x 23.
Divide: 4 digits by 2 digits such as 6504 divide by 25.
FEBRUARY BOOK PROJECT: students will begin presenting their iMovies next week. Technology and presentation/public speaking are part of the common core, so this has been a good way to incorporate those standards.
READING: We began the new genre unit with the theme, "Making Choices".
We read "Katie's Trunk" as an opening picture book and begin the The Fighting Ground on Monday. Just an FYI in case your child comes home telling you about this: This book does have a "bad word" a couple times during a battle which we will be replacing with "darn". I talk to the kids each year about how as they are getting older and reading more serious books, everything is not always goodness and light, there isn't always a happy or satisfying ending, and the characters have to be believable in the situation they are in. They know it isn't appropriate to say "bad" words and I have never had an issue with it in 5 years. Every 5th grade teacher uses this book- it's part of our curriculum that incorporates the Revolutionary War in language arts and social studies.
I will also be adding in non-fiction material.
WRITING: Finishing Biographies this week! Students will be presenting their power points. We had some discussion about how to incorporate parts of their plans into various paragraphs where they best fit- this can be tough! For example: In which paragraph would the quotes they found fit best? Should you have a paragraph about interesting facts or try to incorporate them into other paragraphs where they may fit? What if you have one that doesn't work anywhere? How do we make it fit seamlessly somewhere?
SCIENCE: We reviewed Newton's first law of motion: Part 1: an object in motion will stay in motion at the same speed and direction until an outside force acts on it. Part 2: an object at rest stays at rest unless a force acts on it. We demonstrated this ourselves. We also performed an investigation about Newton's 2nd law of motion and will finish this on Monday. We will have a quiz on Monday the 11th. I review in class and will give them a study guide.We have been doing a lot of putting the definitions and concepts into our own words and acting them out so they make sense. We also discuss how these concepts are applied to our daily lives all of the time!
Have a great weekend!
Laura Blowers
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