Dear Galileo

In our study of the Sun, we have learned about an important scientific tool:  the telescope.  Scientists use this tool to make distant objects (things that are far away) appear closer.  This is helpful because it helps astronomers to study objects in space and learn new things!

Galileo made some of the first discoveries in space, using an early version of the telescope.  It was much less powerful than the ones scientists use to study space in modern times.  We watched a video and read articles about this important scientist, who is often referred to as "the father of modern science."

Students then discussed what they had recorded in their notebooks with groups and partner pairings, before writing a letter to Galileo.  They wanted to tell him how the world has changed because of his early space discoveries, since many of his findings were disputed and rejected during his lifetime.

Students were able to share their letters, and if you scroll down, you can enjoy some of our letters as well!

Ava's Letter

Ben's Letter

Maddie's Letter

The Jungle Journal for the Week of 3/3/14

Reminders

Scholastic orders should be placed online by Thursday, March 6^th.   Thank you for supporting our classroom and helping us build our library!

FCAT Parent Night is this Tuesday, March 4^th at 7:00 PM.  The meeting will be held in our classroom, room 226.

Readers’ Workshop

This week will work to closely analyze texts, noticing that the reading with the lens of word choice helps us to develop clearer ideas about the central message of a text.  Students will notice how words are chosen thoughtfully by authors to create a tone and reinforce their perspective.  We will then begin research projects in small groups, working to study a variety of texts on the same topic, comparing the texts and developing theories.  Ask your child what topic their group is studying.

In order to hold students accountable for their in-class and nightly reading, we are now logging our reading on a reading log.  This log, which will be a portion of students’ Reading Habits grade, should be completed by the student and signed by a parent each night.

At this point, we have collected four BINGO Responses.  Check your child’s Reading BINGO Folder to see if they are on track.  If they have missed a response, it is not too late to make it up!  

Our 5^th BINGO Response is due Tuesday, March 11^th.

Writers’ Workshop

This week we dive into our information writing unit.  Students have selected a topic on which they are an expert and will begin to construct writing for the purpose of teaching others.  We will experiment with the organization of our information, determining what we believe will be the most effective structure for our chosen topics.  Our previous unit on text structures will prove most beneficial for this activity!  

Skills

There will be no spelling homework or quiz this week.

Social Studies

We will begin our new unit on the regions of America.  We will start with the southeast.   We will spend the next two weeks placing the applicable states on a map before studying the land and water, climate, resources, and landmarks of this region we call home.  Visit the blog to take advantage of a cool study link that your child can use to practice mapping the states for each region throughout this unit of study.  The quiz will be next Friday.

Math

Our fraction unit will come to an end this week.  The quiz will be Thursday.  Students should study and review their white packets in order to prepare.  We will spend our last sessions playing “Capture Fractions,” which is similar to the card game “War.”  As a result of this game, students will undoubtedly have disagreements about which fraction is actually larger.  So, we will review how to compare fractions to landmark numbers to settle these debates.  We will also practice placing fraction cards on a number line to see them in relation to other fractions and whole numbers.  The hands-on nature of this series of lessons is very powerful in clearing up some final comparison misconceptions.

 Science

We continue our study of the Sun, but we will ask a new question about our nearest star:  What is radiant energy?  We already know that the Sun provides heat and light energy to Earth.  We will move past that to discuss how radiant energy from the Sun can heat objects, but that when the Sun is not present, this heat can be lost.  Students will utilize their knowledge of the scientific method and the practice of science to design an experiment (as a large group) that shows how the temperature of a cup of tap water can be changed without tools like microwaves or refrigerators.  There will be no quiz this week.  Instead, students will submit their lab notes for a classwork grade.

Social Studies: Regions of the USA

Here are some things that you should know about our upcoming unit of study:

1) We will study each region for 2 weeks. 

2) We will study the regions starting in the SE and moving in a somewhat clockwise rotation. Stay tuned to the newsletter for the current region of study. 

3) For each region, part of the quiz will be placing the states (for that region only) on a map. There will also be several other questions about the landmarks, landforms, culture, climate, etc. 

4) There is an awesome website where students can practice placing the states.  It is difficult to do well on the quizzes without studying the map for each region in advance.  

Please let us know if you have any more questions. :) 

Math Center Mania

Who:  Everyone is included in math centers and has been assigned to a team.

What:  Math centers are a new and exciting part of our daily routine.  A variety of mathematical topics are covered.  A whole group meeting is held on Monday, and then students rotate through centers Tuesday through Friday.  The centers include solving problems with the teachers, working on the computers, and working through independent task card problems alone/with partners.  All centers cover similar topics each week to maximize student understanding of a specific topic.  For example, this week we are reviewing perimeter, parallel vs. perpendicular lines, and finding the right equation for a given problem.  We are also discussing elapsed time.

When:  Every single day from 2:45 to 3:15.  Make sure you are at school every day, all day, so you don't miss out on visiting your favorite center!

Where:  One teacher group is located in the front of the room, where modeling can be done on the large projection screen, while another teacher uses wipe boards at a cluster of desks in the back.  Other students work independently at a grouping of desks in the center of the room, while the remaining kids are scattered around the perimeter of the room at our computer stations.  Student progress is noted by teachers in the teacher-led groups, but we also hold students working independently accountable.  Computer work is monitored through our teacher monitoring page,s and task card progress is checked through a recording sheet students fill out at the independent station.

Why:  This allows a variety of math topics/standards to be covered.  It is a great review tool to keep old math skills fresh.  Centers also allow for us to discuss topics that are not addressed in our Investigations Units.

Which center is your favorite?  Why do you feel that way?  Leave a comment and earn $10 Monkey Moolah!!!

The Jungle Journal for the Week of 1/27/14

Reminders

Our Awards Ceremony is this Friday at 9:15 AM, in the Dining Room.  Please be sure to sit at our class’ assigned tables.

We are in need of thick glue sticks for the hot glue gun and thick Sharpie markers for chart writing.  Any donations would be greatly appreciated!

Readers’ Workshop

This week we will work to identify the main idea of nonfiction texts.  Often, when asked to recall what they have just read, readers will recall one specific or interesting fact, while missing the overall message.  We will be working to look closely at the details to determine the main idea.  We have learned that the title or heading of a section is a great clue for the main idea.  In class, we will be looking at nonfiction texts where the headings have been removed, and working to determine a sentence that appropriately summarizes the main idea.

In order to hold students accountable for their in-class and nightly reading, we are now logging our reading on a reading log.  This log, which will be a portion of students’ Reading Habits grade, should be completed by the student and signed by a parent each night.   

Our first Reading BINGO Response is due Wednesday, January 29^th.

Writers’ Workshop

This week we will begin our focus on persuasive petitions and letters.  We will use what we have already learned about opinion writing as we move toward this new project.  Students will use graphic organizers to plan their writing, before working to draft a persuasive opinion or letter.

Skills

Students should study and complete one of the homework options for spelling list 12.  Our quiz will be Friday. The quiz will also cover our skills sheet.  This week’s focus is addresses and book titles.  Our daily skills sheet (in their ROAR folder) will serve as their study guide.

Social Studies

Our study of Economics:  Using Money (Chapter 9, Lesson 1) continues.  The quiz will be Friday.  We have discussed how money has taken many different forms over time and the differences between goods and services.  This week, we will learn about the importance of earning an income and saving, how to make a budget, and what it means to earn interest when you choose to put your money in the bank.  We will review why money is often easier than the bartering system.

Math

There will be no concept quiz this week, but there will be a fluency quiz on 2s, 10s, and 12s.

In class, we will begin our new unit Finding Fair Shares, which covers fractions.  Our normal quiz schedule will change during this unit; we may have quizzes on days besides Wednesdays, due to the pacing of this unit.  We will notify parents & students of changes to this schedule in the newsletter.  For example, our first quiz will be Tuesday, February 4th.

First, we will be working to find equal (fair shares) parts of a whole, before naming them as fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4).  We will practice dividing paper brownies into equal parts.  Later, we will build fraction sets that your child can bring home to review (Ziplocs with blue and yellow paper).  These will be used to illustrate how fractions can be combined to reach a sum of 1 whole.  For example, we will learn about fractions with numerators greater than 1 when we build equations like 1/4 + 3/4 = 1 whole.

 Science

Our new unit, Earth in Space and Time/The Universe (Chapter 2 in student workbook) begins this week.  We will begin the unit with a discussion about perception and how it can mislead us when forming ideas about stars.  We think of them as tiny twinkling lights in the sky, when in reality, they are giant balls of hot, glowing gases that release energy.  Ask your child about how their thinking has changed as a result of the "How Big, How Small" Lab.  Later in the week, we will begin studying the size, color, and brightness of stars.  There will be no quiz this week. 

Transformations!

Transformations are flips, turns, and slides.  

A flip is when a shape or object is flipped across a line and faces the opposite direction. This makes the object appear to be reflected in a mirror. 

A turn is when a shape or object moved from its original location to a new location, like the hands on a clock. The move happens on a fixed point. Neither the shape nor the size of the object changes when the movement happens. 

A slide is when an object or image moved to a new location.  Neither the shape nor the size of the object changes when the movement happens. Think of a person on a slide - they move locations from the top of the slide to the bottom, but nothing else changes about them. 

The Jungle Journal for the Week of 1-13-14

Reminders

There is no school this Friday or next Monday.

Readers’ Workshop

This week we continue our study of nonfiction texts.  Last week we introduced the concept of “revving-up our minds” for reading by previewing the text features.  This week we will work to summarize the text, identifying the main idea and supporting details.  We will be using our hands to “map the text”.

In order to hold students accountable for their in-class and nightly reading, we are now logging our reading on a reading log.  This log, which will be a portion of students’ Reading Habits grade, should be completed by the student and signed by a parent each night.   

The 6^th BINGO Response is due Tuesday, January 14^th.

Writers’ Workshop

For the next few days, we will be revising our persuasive speeches.  We spent the end of last week drafting all of our thoughts on our chosen topic.  This week, we will work to organize our information into categories that make sense, add examples to support our thinking, and eliminate superfluous or irrelevant information. 

Skills

There will be no spelling homework or test this week.

Social Studies

We will continue our study of local government this week.  We will learn the importance of town meetings, as well as the role citizens play in making decisions in their communities.  In addition, students will learn about the services local government provides for the common good and the laws used to keep citizens safe.  Ask your child to explain how services are paid for and who works in the city and county government to keep things running smoothly.   The quiz will be Thursday, January 16^th.

Math

For the next several days, we will explore the growth patterns of Magic Marbles that children on the planet Rhomaar receive as gifts. In this investigation, students will learn about rates of change.  If the rate of change stays the same, it is referred to as constant.  We will use tables and graphs to represent how one quantity changes in relation to another quantity.  

# of Days	Example:  Children on the planet Rhomaar receive Magic Marbles each night.  Leeyan started with 10 marbles and receives 2 marbles each night.  How many marbles will Leeyan have on the fifth night? Total Marbles
Beginning	10
1	12
2	14
3	16
4	18
5	?

There will be a fluency quiz on the 4’s and 8’s on Thursday, January 16^th.  There will be no concept quiz this week.

Science

We have reached the end of Chapter 4:  Forms of Energy.  Your child should be able to identify light, heat, mechanical, electrical, and sound as basic forms of energy; give examples of how energy changes form; recognize how light energy travels and changes (reflection, refraction, absorption); and understand that many forms of energy can be changed to thermal (heat) energy.  The students will have their Energy End of Unit Assessment on Wednesday, January 22^nd.  Please review the workbook pages in Chapter 4, the review on pages 162-163 and their Science Journal notes.