Week of April 20-23

MATH:
Last week we introduced 2-digit division (long division).

For students who don't understand, or parents who would like to see how we are doing this, please visit this website to get extra assistance from a personal tutor:

http://www.mhschool.com/math/mathconnects/assets/asset_view.html?s=mcg4_8_5_1&type=PT

I have also posted new links under the Math links at the side of the blog. Please visit these websites to assist your child, as this is a concept that is very difficult for students and students would benefit greatly from extra review/reinforcement at home. There are great self-check and readiness quizzes to help make sure students understand this concept. Visit the links!

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will be looking at 3-digit division, which is done in the same way, but is with one extra digit. Thursday we will again review these types of questions and on Friday, students will be tested on 2 and 3-digit division.


Timed Test: This week will be division of numbers from 1-5 as divisors.


SOCIAL STUDIES:
This week we start our new unit for Social Studies. We will be focussing on The West of the United States. Today, students completed a map of the West. This week we will be looking at the landforms of The West. We will review these concepts next Monday, then students will be tested next Tuesday.

SCIENCE:
Students were given all of last week to work on their Science Fair projects. Some students made good use of their time, while others wasted time fooling around. Students were told they were not going to be given anymore class time, and since this is an assignment that must be completed at school, students who are not finished will need to use parts of their recess or lunches to complete the assignment. They may also work on it during class time using the time they are given during Math or Social Studies to complete their homework - instead saving that homework for home.


LITERACY

This week we will celebrate Earth Day! Most of our activities will be related to this special day.

Read Aloud
The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, focus on using picture clues, features of poetry (rhyme, stanzas, lines, etc.), and alliteration.

Explore Antartica, focus on features of non fiction text (table of contents, glossary, index, etc.)

Shared Reading
A World in Danger, TFK article, by Melissa Kong, focus on identifying the main idea.

You Wouldn't Want to be a Polar Explorer, we will take an expedition to icy Antartica, focus on using context clues and drawing conclusions.

Interactive Editing
Students will continue to work in pairs to pepare the Oral Presentation - My Favorite Rainforest Animal. They are summarizing text and writing ideas on their own words to later present about the topic to an audience.

Independent Writing
We are working on a Mother's Day Gift! We will focus on ideas and voice.

Students will also participate in Book Clubs, Guided Reading, and Independent Reading.