Have a Good Week and Happy Holidays!

We are looking forward to our field trip this Monday to the Shedd Aquarium!  Take a look at what else we will be working on this week of 12-19-11.  Best wishes for a great week and a wonderful holiday season!




In Word Work, we will define and discuss important words in the novel Ninth Ward. Students will use context clues and the dictionary to determine the meanings of the words.  In literature study, we will continue to read and discuss Ninth Ward. Students will also go deeper with their understanding of visualization as we act out parts of the novel.  In writing workshop, students will type the final drafts of their personal essays.

This week in math, we will begin Topic 9: Fractions. First, we will use plastic fraction pieces to explore what we notice about fractions and what that makes us think. We will discuss the meaning of a fraction, how to divide a whole into parts, and we will explore mixed numbers and improper fractions. There will be a timed facts test on Tuesday.

In science we will begin the week with a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Students will be paying special attention to animal adaptation and camouflaging animals. Back at school, students will watch the film March of the Penguins: a look at the annual journey of Emperor penguins as they march to their traditional breeding ground. Students will also take a penguin quiz.

Field Trip Next Monday!

Hello!  As I mentioned last week, we will be taking a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium next Monday, December 19th.  The field trip slips were supposed to go out last Friday, but will be coming home this Monday, December 12th without a doubt!  I applied for a grant provided by Target and the Shedd Aquarium so our total cost for the trip is $0.  Pretty amazing!  Thank you Target and Shedd!


Please notice below that we will be starting our One Book, One Pershing West selection this week:  Ninth Ward.  It's an amazing book.  I hope you read along with us!  Have a good week:

In Word Work, we will finish GUM Book Unit 3. Students will take a test this week on the concepts in this unit. In writing workshop, students will write the body of their essays based on personal experience. We will discuss revising and revisiting our thesis statements as we write our essays. In literature study, we will begin the novel Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Here’s a synopsis: Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. She doesn't have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya's visions show a powerful hurricane — Katrina — fast approaching, it's up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm. We will be discussing relationships between characters as well as visualization strategies that will make the text come alive in our minds. I highly encourage you to read along. This is a novel the whole school will be reading and discussing.

This week in math we will be reviewing Topic 13 and taking a test. Items that students should know for the test include: How to find the surface area of a net of a rectangular prism (find the area of each face and add them together), How to find area of a rectangle (a=length x width), How to find area of a triangle (a=1/2 x base x height), How to find the volume of a rectangular prism (volume=length x width x height), How to identify a triangular prism, pyramid, cone, rectangular prism, or cylinder, How to visually fold a net into a cube, How to find area of an irregular shape (break it into two regular shapes, then add the areas together), and How to find the volume of an irregular solid (break it into two regular solids, then add the volumes.)

In science this week, students will continue our discussion on the following focus question: There are more whales in Antarctica in December, January, and February. How might this affect the penguins in Antarctica? Students will analyze the data we collected and graphed last week. Then, students will explore more penguin adaptations, while drawing and labeling a penguin.

What Do You Know About Penguins?

We've been learning a lot about pengiuns in science.  Ask your child about the two experiments we did last week.  In a couple of weeks, we will be taking a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium to observe the penguins, as well as some of the other animals.  Look out for a field trip slip coming home some time this week!  What else are we learning this week or 12-5-11, you ask?  Read below to find out.

In Word Work, students will continue Unit 3 in their GUM Book. They will be learning to distinguish the difference between that, which, and who, among other grammar and usage topics.



In literature study, students will use the computer lab to type up our Heal the World essays. They will also do some background reading for the novel The Ninth Ward. We will also have a visit from PEPSICO who will be doing activities with students during our literacy period on Tuesday. We will continue to learn about main idea and detail.


In writing workshop last week, students came up with ideas for thesis statements for their essays. This week we will be analyzing their thesis statements to see if we can shape them to be just right. Then, students will be working on coming up with ideas to support their thesis statements by completing a graphic organizer that will help them organize their ideas. We will read another essay as an example of what students’ work should look like.


Students will begin Topic 13: Solids in math. This week we will how to find the surface area of a solid. Then, students will look at arrangements of cubes and draw diagrams of the top side and front views to help their understanding of 3-D shapes and volume. Students will build a rectangular prism and find the volume. Finally, students will model how to break a shape into its parts to find the area of the shape.


In science this week, students will learn more about penguin survival as we study the following two focus questions: What would you do if you were a baby penguin and you had to find your mother among thousands of birds that looked alike? and There are more whales in Antarctica in December, January, and February. How might this affect the penguins in Antarctica?