The Kersey Chronicles
Rockstars Choosing to Matter in Room 25
Books for Beverland
The Noble Crossing Library is still collecting books for #booksforbeverland in honor of Susan Jordan, the principal in Lawrence Township, who lost her life in a bus accident. If you are interested, please send a new or very lightly used book in by Friday, February 12.
Try This At Home ...
Ask your child about our novel study book, Number the Stars.
- Do you like the book? Why or why not?
- What do you think about the protagonist (main character)?
- What has surprised you about the book?
- What do you think will happen next?
- What would you do if you were Annemarie?
**The kids appear to especially enjoy this novel study and we have had some AWESOME group discussions so far!**
Ask your child how we used LEGO Build With Chrome to learn about multiplying fractions!
This Week's Set List (February 8-12)
Week at a Glance/Skills for the Week:
LITERACY – We continue our Q3 novel study on Friday. The next two weeks, we will read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. This critical reading will focus on comparing and contrasting characters (within and across texts), analyzing themes, and evaluating the use of literary devices. Students will do this through a combination of word study, written responses, comprehension checks, and group discussions.
***During this novel study, all other literacy tasks are put on pause. This is so students can focus their time and attention on critically reading one novel together. It also ensure students have enough time to finish the majority of work at school. Any remaining work should be completed for homework that night in lieu of Read at Home time.***
WRITING – We continue writing our Young Author Books. Students have started brainstorming and drafting a possible story arc. The books this year will be a picture book appropriate for an audience similar to their 1st grade buddies. My hope is that this will limit the amount of time students need to complete these books. I still expect 5th grade level writing, but in the form of an "everybody book" (aka less text!) There is often a misconception that a lot of writing is equivalent to excellent writing, which is not true. We are currently conducting a book study of picture books and are noticing a lot of interesting writing! Tentatively, a rough draft of the book is due to me on Friday, February 16th. The final copy of the book will be published by Monday, March 21st in time for Art and Author Night.
MATH – We will continue unit 8 this week. The main purpose of this unit is to investigate fractions and ratios. Students will review the concept of renaming fractions as equivalent fractions, and will be introduced to algorithms for multiplying fractions, and mixed numbers. They will also practice estimating and calculating a percent of a number. These skills will be tested at the end of unit 8. This test is currently scheduled for Thursday, February 18th. A student guide will be sent home the week before and we will review the day before the test on February 18th. Per usual, please remember to utilize the family letter to support your child's work throughout this unit.
SPELLING – We will continue spelling. Students will take either 4th grade words, unit 13 (stop, fine, am, talk, whether) or 5th grade words, unit 6 (mountain, caught, wood, hair, bird).
SCIENCE – We finished our unit on electricity and heat. Now, we turn our attention to an engineering unit where we will learn the engineering design process, and practice problem-solving skills.
SOCIAL STUDIES – We are taking a break from Social Studies and will resume later in the school year.
TIPS - We will use this time to practice test taking skills in reading, writing, and science to prepare for ISTEP+ (testing begins on February 29th)
Upcoming Events
February 5th: PTO Movie Night 6:15-8:30pm
February 12th: Valentine's Party, 2:15-3:00pm
February 17th: Early Release Day, 2:55pm Dismissal
February 26th: Wild Wild West Carnival, 5:30-8:30pm