EPIC House March Newsletter
Extraordinary Passionate Innovative Community
Dates to Remember:
- March 6th: Dare Graduation 1:45-2:35
- March 11th: Music demonstration for 4th Graders
- March 30-April 7: Spring break
Gnome Games PBIS Celebration
Artist Eric Samuel Timm visits Lineville Intermediate
What's happening in our classrooms?
First Hour Math
First hour math is in the process of finishing up their first self-paced unit on problem solving for unit 6. This unit allowed the students to work at their own pace and be able to ask questions throughout the unit. Feedback from the students was very positive and they have done very well on the quizzes thus far. Students not only needed to decide what operation to use while solving but many problems also required more than one step to solve. They did an incredible job collaborating, self pacing, and holding themselves accountable for the work at hand. Students are also working in Math Quest groups to solve problems that will be similar to the Smarter Balanced Assessment coming in May. We will be starting unit 7 next week which is on measurement and metric conversions.
Second Hour Math
Second hour math is in the process of working on unit five which is long division with whole numbers and decimals. This tends to be a difficult unit for students but they are working very hard and have done a great job so far. In addition, we are also creating weekly math vocabulary flash cards which will help the students prepare for testing that is coming up in May. Students will receive new math vocabulary words each Monday and have a weekly math vocabulary quiz each Friday. In addition, students are working on a Smarter Balanced packet which will help them prepare for the new WKCE test which will be this May and is called the Badger 3-8 assessment.
Language Arts
Writing
Social Studies
Students are in the process of working on the American Revolution unit. For this unit, we are piloting a new program called TeachTCI which in an on-line 21st century geared resource that does an incredible job integrating curriculum and engaging students in learning about history. So far we have discussed the causes of the Revolutionary War. Next, we will be moving into the major events of the war and then the Declaration of Independence.
Achieve 3000
As we enter the month of March, student’s Lexile scores have been adjusted based on last month’s activity performance. The goal is for students to be at a Lexile of 800-900 by the end of 5th grade. You can ask your child to share their recent Lexile level with you and discuss their Lexile goals for the end of the year. Achieve has also announced their Spring contest. The top class at Lineville with the most points for activities above 75% will earn a classroom party. In addition, I decided to sweeten the pot and shared that the top three students by points will also earn a pizza party for lunch with Mrs. Maroszek. The contest runs until March 20th. Every lesson counts, so if you could encourage your child to work on Achieve 3000 at home at night, it would count for both reading minutes and help us with the contest!
Science
It has been a month filled with learning all about the in’s and out’s of the Digestive System. Students have experienced many hands-on experiments that have helped our students truly understand the organ functions and process of digestion. We also had the pleasure of having Dr. Ahrens, from the Aurora Bay Care clinic, come and talk to us about the importance of the Digestive System and eating foods that help our bodies. Our Digestive System Quiz will be next week Monday and Tuesday. Please help your child study for their quiz. They were given a study guide, as well as have notes from class in their notebooks and vocabulary terms on their iPads in the Quizlet app. Next, we will dive into the Respiratory System where students will be creating their own lungs. Students will observe how the lung inhales and exhales. For this activity, students will need two plastic water/soda bottles. Please bring these items in from home late next week.
Wish List Items:
Kleenex
Pencils
Red Pens
Individually wrapped small candies for prizes (Tootsie rolls, Jolly Ranchers etc.)
Pay It Forward
Look for upcoming information about our Pay It Forward project. We are in the works of planning a Little Free Library project. What is a Little Free Library you might ask? It's a "take a book, return a book" gathering place when neighbors share their favorite books. Anyone may stop by and pick up a book for another to share.
If you have gently used books at home that you think other students might enjoy, please donate them to our great cause!
Check out this video that explains more about LIttle Free Library!