Ms. Deming’s Weekly Newsletter
December 7, 2015
Experiment 1
Last week we did an
experiment on force, mass,
and speed. The students
used a sling shot to launch a
nerf ball and a basketball.
Students had to apply
different forces and then
record the distance the ball
traveled. Students were
able to observe that mass
and the amount of force
applied affect the speed
and distance of an object.
Experiment 2
In this experiment the
students learned about
slope and distance. The
students used a car
and ramp to explore
this. Students kept
adding textbooks to
their ramp in order to
increase the slope.
Students were able to
observe that the great
slope they had, the
farther the car would
travel. Students also
changed the friction of
their ramp by using
aluminum foil and
bubble wrap to see how
this affected the
distance the car went.
Happening This Week…
Reading
This week we will continue with our
nonfiction reading unit. This week we
will do another close reading on a
fifth grade level nonfiction passage
about Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights
Movement. The students will also
have their assessment on Tuesday on
the skill finding the connection
between sentences and paragraphs in
a text. They will be asked questions
like, “How are paragraphs 1 and 4
similar?” The rest of the week,
students will read technical,
historical, and scientific texts and
they will have to identify events and
steps in a procedure. Students will
also MAP test in reading this week.
Science- This week we will continue with our
force and motion unit. We will be wrapping up this
unit this week. Expect a test next week.
Social Studies- We will continue with our unit on
citizenship. This week the students will learn all
about our local government.
Notes from Ms. Deming 
-Don’t forget our field trip is this week. We will
eat lunch when we get back to the school. Students
who wish to buy a lunch will be receiving a bagged
lunch. Please have students dressed appropriately
for the field trip. This means sneakers that are
comfortable to walk in, coats, gloves, and hats.
-This week and next students will be doing their
winter MAP tests for reading and math. They will
be given their winter goals that they are trying to
reach. If they reach their goal, they will earn
lunch in the classroom or outside for a picnic with
me and a dessert after lunch. Please try to have
students present on these days from 1:00-2:30.
-Second Quarter Progress reports
will go home this Thursday,
December 10, 2015.
-Please continue to do Compass Learning, Khan
Academy, and practice your child’s math facts at
home with them. Once they master, I will be
working with them on enrichment.
To efficiently manage classroom items on the wish
list, a sign up genius was created. The link is:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0e4baeaa
22ab9-deming. Please check it weekly!
Important Information and Reminders
Math
Students will continue working on our
multiplication unit. So far, I have a
few students who have completed all
of their pathways. Once they
complete all of their pathways, they
will be given the multiplication PBL.
For the PBL, students must choose a
city to build a new resort and design
the resort. They have to calculate
prices for all of the items they will
have to buy. When they are finished,
they have to draw their resort.
Students will also be taking the
quarter 1 common assessment this
week. This will check for retention of
place value, addition, and subtraction.
It will not be used as a grade.
Writing
This week we will wrap up our “Upping
the Quality of Personal Narratives”
unit. Students must turn in a second
narrative on Wednesday. This means,
they may have to take home to work on.
I will be sending home the rubric. This
will be taken as a formal grade. This
week we will also begin our nonfiction
writing unit.
Grammar
This week the students will learn about
compound sentences. They will learn
that you can join a compound sentence
together by using a comma and the
words and or but, Students will have a
mini grammar assessment on Friday.
Important Dates to know…
-12/8 Winter reading MAP testing 1:00-2:30
-12/10 (Our class goes on this day) Third
Grade Field Trip to Rosedale -12/9 Narrative
writing piece (different than the first one
they turned in) due for a formal grade
-12/11 Last day of fall clusters
-12/14 – 12/18 Scholastic Book Fair in media
center
-12/15 Winter math MAP testing 1:00-2:30
-12/17 Winter Concert for grade 3 (students
should meet in their classrooms at 6 p.m. The
concert begins at 6:30).
-12/18 Cluster Expo
-12/18 December birthday celebrations @
3:00
-12/21 – 1/3 No School Winter Break
Vocabulary Dates:
-List 5 words introduced 12/7 and 12/8 and
test 12/18
Spelling Dates:
Group 1: New words introduced 12/2 and test
12/9
Group 2: New words introduced 12/3 and test
12/10
Group 3: New words introduced 12/4 and test
12/11
Assignment Due Dates this week:
• Second published narrative writing piece
with illustration due Wednesday, December
9.
•
•
Test & Quiz Dates this week:
Reading informal assessment on finding the
connection between paragraphs and
sentences is on Tuesday, December 8/
Grammar assessment on compound
sentences is on Friday, December 11.