We had a wonderful return to school from Spring Break. The kids were focused, creative and engaged in our learning- it made for a very productive and fulfilling week!
Reading: In addition to the Treasures curriculum, which includes spelling, vocabulary and reading strategies, we are also mixing in some short and long texts unrelated to the "American West" theme. These additional texts are providing us with opportunities to focus on some of the Common Core standards that the Treasures stories may not touch upon. This week we practiced identifying cause and effect. This can be tricky at times because students can often identify events that relate, but not necessarily ones that depend on each other as a cause and effect.
Writing: We continued to work on editing and revising the rough drafts of their persuasive or informational writing. Among the most popular genres, students chose biographies, advertisements, short reports and eulogies. Final drafts are due on Monday. Ask your kids what they wrote about!
4th Grade Math: This week we began Unit 7: Fractions, Chance and Probability. The students had a very positive start to the unit. They used pattern blocks to identify parts of a whole (ex: 1/3 of 1), then moved on to determining parts of a collection (ex: 4/5 of 20).
5th Grade Math: Check out Ms. Wennerberg's website and newsletter for updates: http://www.op97.org/swennerberg/
Social Studies: Check out Ms. Wennerberg's website and newsletter for updates: http://www.op97.org/swennerberg/
Science: We wrapped up the the respiratory system and started the nervous system this week. Students have done an excellent job taking notes throughout this unit. We've had fewer labs and more learning through video, power point, lecture and reading; I'm proud of the kids for adapting to this learning style, and staying engaged and interested. After the nervous system, we'll study the digestive system. Ask your kids which one they think is most interesting or (for a little debate) which one is most important!
Miscellaneous:
- If you haven't sent in the permission slips and money for our upcoming field trips, please do so as soon as you can! The permission slips include: 5th grade- Brooks Tour; All- Museum of Science and Industry; All- Robert Crown; All- Photo release for Adopt-a-Pilot
- Order your Whittier Yearbook today! Deadline for pre-ordering your yearbook is April 19th. After that, we will continue to accept orders with payment until the extra supply runs out. Order forms are available on the Whittier Information Rack -or- at the PTO website store: www.whittierpto.org. Email questions to yearbook@whittierpto.org.
