Mid Week Update for the week of April 5, 2016
**Please be sure to read to the end of this email to see information on
PSSA testing which begins next Tuesday, April 12.
Here is what has been going on in our classroom since last Wednesday…
Math: We have been working on time this week in Topic 14. This topic will also
cover capacity and mass. The book covers metric units, but we are also
discussing customary units like quarts, pints, and gallons during our CE block. If
you have a regular clock in your house, ask your child to tell you what time it is.
Also ask your child to tell the time in different ways and to find how long
something lasts, such as: dinner, a movie, baseball practice, etc.
Reading: In reading we have been studying nonfiction. We have been
discussing text structures such as compare/contrast, cause/effect,
problem/solution, and question/answer. Ask your child, “How can you tell what
text structure is being used? What clues can you look for?”
Writing: This week we shared our finished literary essays with Mrs. Viscuso’s
class. It was interesting to hear about other books and to see what theses her
class came up with. Ask your child, “What book did your partner in Mrs.
Viscuso’s class read? Did you have a similar thesis?”
Science: We are continuing our study of land and water. This week we
investigated how obstacles such as hills and boulders affect the flow of streams.
We also built dams and learned the benefits and disadvantages of dams on the
community and the ecosystem. Ask your child, “What happened to the water in
your stream table when you built a dam across the stream channel? Did your
simulation protect the “town” from the flood?”
The PSSA is coming! Testing will be taking place for 7 school days (see
schedule below). On these days, please make sure (even more than usual!) that
your child gets a good night’s sleep and has a healthy breakfast. On testing
days, we will be providing students with gum, mints, and a snack during the
testing morning. Our lunch and recess will happen at the normal time. We will
have Encore from 1:50-2:40. Also, the only homework that will be assigned for
the two testing weeks will be reading for 15 minutes a night (and logging, of
course!). If you have any other questions about the test, please let me know.
Tomorrow we will have a question and answer session to put everyone’s minds
at ease. The message I give the class is “You’ve got this! You have worked
hard this year and now it’s time to show what you know.”
Upcoming Events:
April 8
“The Brain Show” Assembly, 2:10 pm
April 12-15
April 19-21
April 21
PSSA English/Language Arts Testing 9:15 am
PSSA Math Testing 9:15 am
MES Art Show 6-8 pm
Yours in Partnership,
Lisa