The Week Ahead 4/16-4/20

Math
Next week in math students will begin adding and subtracting mixed numbers. Up to this point they have added and subtracted fractions with other fractions, fractions with a whole number, and fractions with a mixed number. 

Inquiry 
We are right in the middle of our inquiry unit under the theme of How the World Works. The central idea of the inquiry is people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth. Last week we started learning about some of the ways the Earth changes. Students studied the layers of the Earth and modeled movement of tectonic plates with graham crackers. We began looking at some effects of the movement of tectonic plates. Many of the students were surprised to learn that there are multiple earthquakes everyday on our planet. Below is a resource we looked at in class that students asked me to share. It provides real time updates on seismic activity.

 https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/


Writing
Students have now made their final decision on whether they believe people should or should not eat insects. Now they will organize the reasons that best support their opinion in a graphic organizer. The goal will be to turn their graphic organizer into a first draft by the end of the week. 

Idiom of the week: it's in the bag

Star Party
We are very fortunate that a family member of a student in our class has offered to teach us a little about astronomy! They will be coming to our class on Thursday, 4/19. In addition, they will be hosting an "Astronomy Star Party" at the school on the evening of Friday, 4/20. Our host is planning on showing the moon, Jupiter, and some other astro-objects that night. I will send out information on the exact time of the "Star Party" when it is determined.


Scholastic Book Order
Scholastic book order flyers have been sent home. If you would like to order any books for your student you can go to https://clubs.scholastic.com/home. Our class code is DKQ9P. I will submit the orders on Friday, 4/20. 


Wooden Nickel Party
The students earned another wooden nickel party for meeting school expectations! They decided they wanted to have a board game party. It will take place the final hour of the day on Friday, 4/20. Students are welcome to bring a favorite board game from home.

Volunteer Appreciation
Volunteer Appreciation will be on Thursday, 4/19. Our class has benefited tremendously from volunteers this year! If you have volunteered in any way this year, please join us in the cafeteria at 2.

Upcoming Dates
  • Tuesday, April 17th - Reading Logs Due/Vocab Test
  • Thursday, April 19th - Volunteer Appreciation 2pm
  • Friday, April 20th - Board Game Party - Star Party (Time TBD)
 

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