Staying In-the-Know
with Ms. Cloyd & Mrs. Drayton
Academy of Environmental Science @ DFES: Title I
11.14.13
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Literacy & SS w/Mrs. Drayton
ELA
Have you seen your child reading lately? Did they ask you to sign their reading log last week? What about today? As stated in last week's newsletter, your child should be reading a "just-right book" at home for 30 minutes everyday and then completing a reading log. If you haven't seen this reading log, please help me by asking your child about it. This log is due every Friday, and it requires your signature. Everyone who read for 150 minutes last week and turned in their signed log received an extra credit coupon to be used on an assignment of his or her choice! Let's work together to promote literacy on a daily basis!
This week we wrapped up research writing! I learned a lot about your kids as readers, writers and researchers through this process. One of the positive things I learned is they love to do their research online. They used online sources such as worldbookonline, and Discovery Education and Brain pop videos. They were also very eager to verbally share their learning with me and their peers. I discovered that their least favorite way to research was reading informational books. We are definitely in the digital age of learning, and I will try to capitalize on this realization, but please encourage your child to read an informational book whenever possible. Through this process, I also learned that we will need to spend more time practicing taking notes and organizing it so that it's clear and logical for the person who's reading it. We will also continue to practice starting off with strong leads and ending with thoughtful conclusions. This will be a year-long process, and I'm looking forward to helping your child improve his or her writing at their level of understanding.
We have spent about a month working on research essays. This has been quite a process! We learned the importance of choosing topics that interests us and make us want to read about the topic. After weeks of investigating the importance of structure in our writing, we have now concluded our research essay writing. Now, we are converting our essays into presentations. Ms. Rogers provided a wonderful lesson on how to use Google Drive to create Presentations, which are very similar to Powerpoints. Your child has his or her own Google email and password. Everything we do at school can now be pulled back up at home. Our goal is to finish these presentations in the next couple of days. Feel free to pull your child's account up at home.
Social Studies
As we bring the immigration unit to an end, I'd like to bring a few things to your attention. On a daily basis, I review the concepts I taught on the day before and then I build upon those concepts with new information for the unit. So each day your child comes home, he or she will most likely have a few new notes and/or charts added to his or her US History composition notebook. Please ask your child to continuously review the old and new information with you or by themselves. There aren't any study cards to memorize, but there's lots of information in their journals for them to review and discuss with you. If they can effectively discuss the concepts with you, then you will know they understand it : ) Tentatively, the next social studies test is on Monday, November 25th. Please make sure your child is prepared.
Research Presentations
Math & Science w/Ms. Cloyd
Math
We are completing our study of double digit division in Chapter 4. Our study of chapter 5 will begin on 11/14/2013. Our essential question will be: “How can I use place value and properties to add and subtract decimals?”
I will be sending a packet home to be used for extra practice in Multiplication and Division. These are important skill for your child to master and I feel the extra practice will be helpful. If you would have your child complete one multiplication problem and one division problem each night. Not one from each page, but a total of 2 problems each night when convenient. I do not want these turned in, this is only for extra practice at home. I will email you on the day I hand it out.
Science
Our Investigations in Science are continuing to work with Mixtures and Solutions. Last week we learned about solutes, solvents and saturated solutions. We will delve into concentration, saturation and physical and chemical reactions in the coming weeks.
The terminology used when the investigations are written in their Science notebooks is the same they will need to use for their Science Fair Projects, due after Christmas. Any time we have an investigation they are to have a Focus Question, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Data, Observation, and Conclusion.
Check out their notebooks, some are really catching on!
Scholastic
Scholastic Book orders and money are due on tomorrow. Please make checks payable to "Scholastic". Thanks for your support!