January 22- February 1

We've had a great two weeks since winter break. The students were eager to share all about their winter breaks and the fun activities they did. Below you will see an overview of the next two weeks.

Language Arts
Our spelling and vocabulary words for Lesson 8 come from our Social Emotional Learning (S.E.L.) curriculum. The students will be assessed on Friday, February 1st. Below is the list of words and definitions.

Word List:Lesson 8 SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

_______________________________

Lesson #8

Test Date : February 1, 2019

Vocabulary Definition

empathy(n) the ability to feel or understand what someone else is feeling

respect(v) to act in a way that shows you care about other people’s feelings

perspective(n) the way you look or see something, point of view

assertive(adj) to have the ability to communicate what you need want in a respectful way          

passive(adj)      the inability to communicate what you need, inactive

aggressive(adj) demanding and not thinking about others’ perspective

complex(adj) not easy to understand or explain

compassion(n) when you do something to show you have empathy

conclusion(n) to make decisions without having all the information

responsibility(n) showing ownership of your actions and behavior

Historical Fiction book talks are due on January 31st!  The one area that continues to be a challenge for some students is making eye contact with the audience. Many students just read their notes, not engaging with the audience.  Please help your child in practicing their book talk and timing them. Don't forget about the RAH calendar. To earn the points the following must be present: correct total of at least 100 minutes weekly, a parent signature and brought back on time.  Finally, as you listen to your child's book talk, ask yourself if the story makes sense! Do you have enough information to make sense of the book? If you have questions in your mind, please help your child to add and explain more. Thanks for your help! Also, don't forget that for this book talk, students needed to choose an item/object that relates to the specific time in history that is represented in the book, as well as giving 3 facts about that time period. We have allowed for more time on this book talk (from 2-3:30 minutes).

Writing: Our writing progress is coming along!  So far, we have covered a variety of writing skills: brainstorming realistic fiction topic ideas, creating believable characters, developing a story arc to show rising action, conflict and falling action, and "showing, not telling." We will move into character's emotions and thoughts, hooking the reading into the story, and finally, having a balance of actions, thoughts/dialogue and setting descriptions. We've noticed that at this stage in a young writer's development, students focus on character's actions (i.e. Jack went to the baseball game. Jack bought some popcorn. Jack watched the game and then went home). We are trying to encourage students to have dramatic scenes that leave the reader wanting to know more!  We will begin drafting our realistic fiction stories very soon! Students will work through a checklist to guide their writing.

Social Studies
This week we are finishing up our study of the Southern Colonies. We are learning about the geography, culture, climate, natural resources, and people of the Southern Colonies. The students will be finishing their Southern Colonies cooperative group project and will then present this information to their peers through slide shows, brochures, skits, or handouts. Students will be graded through a presentation rubric and assessment at the end of this section.

As a culminating activity to learning about the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies, we will celebrate with a fun day on January 25th. We will veer from our normal schedule and participate in colonial activities throughout the morning and lunchtime. We are all excited to simulate what life would have been like in colonial times. Remember to bring in one clean athletic sock for the craft that day. Also please have your child come to school dressed in their colonial clothes so we can start Colonial Day right away. Your child can bring clothes to change into after lunch, if they wish.

Science:

After Colonial Day we will take a break from Social Studies and jump back into Science.
Our next unit is Earth Science! We will address the following power standards during this unit:

• Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an

explanation for changes in landscape over time. (4-ESS1-1)

• Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering

or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation. (4-ESS2-1)

• Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impact of natural Earth processes
  on humans. (4-ESS3-2)

Math:

We are almost at the end of Unit 4 in Math. We will review in class this Wednesday and Thursday and the test will be on Friday afternoon. Our next unit will start with the study of fractions. Lessons will include decomposing fractions, adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators, word problems, and mixed fractions. Many students are working on a new game called Prodigy. Once students have mastered Reflex Math (multiplication and division facts) they will go onto a more challenging game that has them apply their facts into new concepts. I have asked the students to keep fresh on their facts by using Reflex Math at least once a week still. Once they have mastered those facts I don’t want them to forget all they learned.

If your child would like to complete the extra optional Math review please have them find it in Google Classroom Math.

SEL:

Our next topic in SEL is about understanding complex feeling and respecting different perspectives. With videos, role-playing, and partner work, students will study these topics! Also don't forget to try to take some time to complete the SEL homelink that is sent home. It is optional but a good way to connect to what we are studying in class.

Monday, January 21: No School, Martin Luther King Day

Friday, January 25: Colonial Day (Send your child to school in colonial clothes and a colonial lunch)

Math Test, Movie Night

Monday, February 4: No School: Institute Day

Thursday, January 31: Book Talk Due (and RAH sheet)

Friday, February 1: Lesson 7 Spelling and Vocab Test

Wednesday, February 20: Portfolio Night (A sign up Genius email will go out in a few weeks)