Hi Families!
I will try to do weekly emails just to keep in touch as we are in crunch time. And before I begin I want to say thank you so much for all the wonderful Teacher’s Appreciation gifts. I love my job and am so appreciative for all of you! Second, Happy Mother’s Day to all you amazing moms! I hope you get to relax and enjoy your day!
Here are some things you need to know about. This week will be long as I introduce all these things, and the next few weeks will be shorter. Please let me know if you have any questions.
1. No more reading logs, math fact practice or spelling. Still check their agendas as they are writing down project work they need to do. Technically we only have 3 weeks left and they are doing so much practical application of reading and writing for their Natural Disaster project it takes the place of the reading and spelling homework. As for Math, we are in Testing Month- yay! So we are cramming and reviewing like crazy in class. They all pretty much have their multiplication facts mastered at this point but if you want to do it with them that's fine but not required.
2. Donner Field Trip- it was great! Perfect weather and the kids all had a good time. Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIzxbq48iXY (if the link doesn’t work let me know)
3. SBAC Testing- They did great this week. I told them how thankful I was that they were able to read. They worked and read for a very long time and I am so proud of the stamina they had. Upcoming Test Dates: Monday 5/9 PM; Wednesday 5/18 AM Math; Thursday 5/19 AM Math.
4. N.D. Project (Natural Disaster Project)- They are working SO SO hard on their Essays. I have high expectations but they always rise to the challenge. They are learning how to do research using credible sources, cite their sources, about the purpose and how to's of making a bibliography, using transition words, paraphrasing, how to write persuasively and write a concluding sentence. And that's all in 2 weeks!!! They will turn in their final draft including bibliography (from EasyBib) on May 13th. Their paper will be revised by a peer, myself and you are more than welcome to read it and assist them in their writing journey as well. Here is the rubric for the essay. They will use this when revising in class and you can use it at home as well. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxIFKqo_jMgKSTk1T3NuMGYtMG8/view?usp=sharing
***Please make sure they are brining their flash drives to and from school daily as needed to work on their projects. Missing flash drives make a waste of class time, and lost flash drives make lots of tears. If you have a gmail account you can have them save them on a Google Doc so they don’t need a flash drive. This is what we will be doing next year.***
5. N.D. Project- They are going to start working as a team to make a Safety Kit that they will then have to advertise. This will start the fun parts of the project. They will create their kits, determine the cost (as real as possible), make an iMovie commercial for their Safely Kit which will be viewed by other students and the commercials will be voted on. Then on June 2nd at 6:00pm you will get to see them attempt to sell their kit to a panel of potential "buyers". The team who is the most convincing, with strong factual evidence and well as strong persuasive techniques will be deemed the winner.
6. Infinite Campus- I have some papers to put in over the weekend, but please be checking IC weekly (get the App if you don't have it). All assignments must be turned in by May 27th. They will be doing project work the following week but the credit for the work will be done May 27th.
7. Music Field Trip on 5/20- Mrs. Fix has asked if we could have 3 chaperones that day. If you are interested please let me know.
8. Ace’s Field Trip- if you haven’t signed and returned the purple form and money please do so.
9. Upcoming Dates to Remember:
5/9 SBAC Reading PM
5/13 Essays Due
5/18 SBAC Math AM
5/19 SBAC Math PM
5/20 Music Field Trip
5/20 Team Commercials Due
5/23 MAP Reading Test AM
5/24 MAP Math Test AM
5/27 Jog-a-Thon
5/27 Infomercial Outline due
5/27 Book Projects/Book Talks Due
5/27 All Quarter 4 work due
6/2 Presentation Night 6:00pm Whitehead cafeteria
6/4 Ace’s Field Trip 9:00-2:00
6/9 Last Day of School 12:50 Release
Ok…that’ enough for 1 week! Have a great weekend and a very Happy Mother’s Day!
With Love,
Carrie
