Friday, March 31
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Report Cards
I hope that you all received your report cards from your child this week. Please remember to sign and return the envelopes. I only sent home one copy per child so I hope you will be able to share it with all households. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
Homework
We will not be doing spelling for the next two weeks so that the students have a little bit more time to focus on getting used to the MCAS test and learning strategies for how to take it. I am trying to emphasize that it is a chance for students to show what they know as readers and writers. Because this type of standardized test is new, it is helpful for them to get familiar with multiple choice tests and open response questions. They will have an article to read for homework to get in the practice of reading and taking notes on what they are reading towards the middle of next week. The ELA test is on April 11-13.
Writing
Students wrote essays about energy last week which they typed on the computer. Some skills they were working on were clear organization and communication and using evidence they learned from articles. Now we are working on our animal reports again. Find out what your child has learned about the animal they are studying.
Math
We are finishing up our math unit on fractions next week. We will likely have the test on Thursday as long as everything goes well with the lessons leading up to that. This week we learned about equivalent fractions with number lines and pictures. Practice fractions with baking and cutting things into equal size pieces. At this level, getting hands on experience with seeing fractions and comparing them is extremely helpful.
Science
Last week your child learned about how people used selection to change an animal's traits, such as creating new breeds of dogs. This week we saw how selection isn’t always caused by human beings: sometimes other, non-human factors can cause selection to happen.
In our lesson, we introduced the true story of two lizard species in Florida. (If you’re curious, you can read an adult-level version of the story here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-evolution-green-brown-lizards-20141101-story.html)
The change in these lizards is an example of "natural selection"— a big idea that your child will revisit over the course of their science education. In our lesson we did not use the term "natural selection," but this example laid the foundation for later understanding of the concept.
Book Orders
Book orders are due by April 13.
Yours truly,
Jessica Harwood