Week of October 19-23, 2015

Program of Inquiry

SHARING THE PLANET

Central Idea: Living things must change to meet the demands of their environment.

Lines of Inquiry:

• Animal adaptations
• Plant adaptations
• How humans adapt to their environment.

Teacher Questions:

• Why do some species survive while others become extinct?  (function)
• Why are there so many different kinds of plants and animals?  (form)
• What aspects in the environment would require humans to adapt? (change)

	Daily 5/CAFE  11:00-12:30
Reading: Daily 5/ CAFE	Daily 5/CAFE:  This week students will continue to choose 3 rounds daily.  They may choose from Read to Self, Read With Someone, Word Work, Writing, or Listen to Reading.  Students will practice the CAFE comprehension strategy of “Ask questions throughout the reading process”.  Through this strategy, readers are actively involved in asking questions before, during, and after reading a selection, thus increasing their comprehension of the material.  We will dive into a variety of text questions in order to further reading comprehension.   During student conferences this week, teachers will check their book boxes to ensure IPICK Good Fit books are present, and that they ask/answer a variety of  questions throughout the reading process. How can you support these CAFE strategies at home?  Click each link below: https://www.thedailycafe.com/legacy/public/file/Parent_Pipeline_%7E_Ask%2520Questions%5B1%5D.pdf (Ask Questions Throughout the Reading Process) BOOK GENRE STUDY (NEW as of 10/16/15!) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lZO3nFEwkzflrQdaEOeotK5GTfBAxxO2q_4Jsa_gsEM/edit VOCABULARY: We encourage you to use Quizlet at home to review your weekly Wordly Wise words. 4th graders:  Students will start Lesson 1 in Book 4 . Word list this week:  benefit, complete, develop, dismay, ease, hail, lack, master, patriot, project, recommend, remark, represent, sufficient, utter 3rd graders: Students will start Lesson 5  in Book 3 . Word list this week:  amaze, arctic, court, elect, interval, league, limit, milestone, reaction, tackle
Writing: VOICES 1:30-2:00	VOICES: Students will continue the 6+1 Traits of Writing. This is referred to as VOICES: voice, organization, ideas, conventions, expanded vocabulary, and sentence fluency. This week we will continue focusing on Conventions. Conventions refer to the mechanical correctness of the piece—spelling, indentation, grammar and usage, punctuation, and use of capitals. We will continue to review proper use of commas in our writing and follow the 6 comma rules.  Students will continue practicing each rule separately, and then progress into multiple comma uses within a sentence. We will work with rules 1, 2, and 6. The Comma Rules: Use a comma before or after a quotation in a sentence. Use a comma after common introductory words in a sentence (however, clearly well, finally.etc.) Use a comma before a conjunction when connecting two independent clauses. (Example: I love summertime, but I miss the snow.) Use a comma to separate a city and state and the day from the year in a date. Use a comma to separate things in a series (listing 3 or more things.) Use a comma to introduce someone in a sentence. Students will continue to organize their ideas and details for their free write. Students should begin their sloppy copy (rough draft) and continue to conference with a teacher. Once a sloppy copy is completed, students will use a checklist to help them revise and edit. When editing, students will be checking for proper use of capitalization, punctuation (including commas), and spelling.  We will introduce proper editing marks for student use when editing. You can use these resources at home: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/punctuation.htm http://www.savethecomma.com/game/ http://www.uwosh.edu/faculty_staff/maguirem/quiz.html.htm http://www.chompchomp.com/hotpotatoes/commas01.htm http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/adventure/grammar2.htm# http://literacyandict.wikispaces.com/Proofreading+games http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/language_arts/proofreading/quiz1634.html GRAMMAR: Students will begin exploring pronouns.  Students will learn that pronouns such as he, she, it, and they, are words that take the place of a noun. http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/grammar/pronoun/balloon_game/ HANDWRITING: Third grade will continue practicing the formation of their cursive letters. Their names should be written in cursive on all of their papers. Fourth grade will review the formation letters in cursive that they are constantly forming and/or connecting incorrectly. Fourth grade students are expected to write in cursive on all assignments unless otherwise indicated. For an animated demonstration of each letter, please use the links below: http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/animation/lowercase.htm http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/animation/uppercase.htm WORDS THEIR WAY SPELLING: Students will be introduced to their new spelling sorts this week.  Students may practice these words during Word Work as well as homework.  Students are responsible for correct spelling and knowing their word patterns. Weekly Words Their Way lists can be found in your child’s agenda.

	3rd Grade Math 9:15-10:15 Looking for extra practice at home?  Use these links below! www.multiplication.com
Monday	Students will review multiplication and equal groups.  Students will write and solve number stories involving equal groups. To support this review at home, please encourage your child to use the following IXL practice this week:   IXL practice at home: L.1, L.2, L.4, L.5, L.6, L.11, L.12, L.13, Any practice for 3rd grade Understand Division, Multiplication Skill Builders, Multiplication Fluency, or Multiplication (At this point, students should be fluent with all addition and subtraction facts through 12.  Nightly practice is encouraged if mastery is not yet achieved. Weekly timed quizzes will be each Friday. Personal goals will be set after each quiz. Please encourage your child to reach their goal!)
Tuesday	Students will use arrays, multiplication and division diagrams, and number models to represent number stories.
Wednesday	Students will review division as equal sharing and equal groups.
Thursday	Students will discuss multiplication facts and explore fact shortcuts.
Friday	Students will review fact families and the multiplication/division fact table.  Students will practice their multiplication and division facts.

	4th Grade Math 8:15-9:15 Looking for extra practice at home?  Use these links below! www.multiplication.com http://www.free-training-tutorial.com/decimal/place-value-decimal-ducks.html http://www.free-training-tutorial.com/decimal/place-value-decimal-ships.html http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/decimals.htm http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/math/compare_and_order_decimals/quiz1373.html http://www.math-play.com/decimal-math-games.html http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/decimals/matchingDecimalsAdd.htm http://www.mathplayground.com/ASB_Hungry_Puppies_Decimals.html http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/decimals/matchingDecimalsMinus.htm http://mrnussbaum.com/hotel/ http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/measurement/MeasurementMeters.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/ma22leng-game-build-a-shed
Monday	Students will review relationships among metric units of length.  Students will explore metric measurement. IXL practice at home: Measurement N.8 and N.9
Tuesday	Students will establish personal references as a guide to remember metric units of length. IXL practice at home: Measurement N.8 and N.9
Wednesday	Students will measure lengths to the nearest millimeter.  Students will convert measurements between millimeters and centimeters.   IXL practice at home: Measurement N.8 and N.9
Thursday	Students will review all Unit 4 concepts and complete a practice test together.   IXL practice at home:
Friday	Students will be assessed on Unit 4 concepts. IXL practice at home:

	Science/Social Studies 2:00-3:00
Monday	Sharing the Planet:  Students will explore the adaptations of NC sea turtles.
Tuesday	Sharing the Planet:  Students will continue to explore the adaptations of NC sea turtles.
Wednesday	Sharing the Planet:  Students will complete a formative assessment to show their understanding of animal adaptations.
Thursday	Sharing the Planet:  Students will view an informational film on plant adaptations and complete comprehension questions.  The class will discuss and inquire about the many adaptations that plants have in order to survive.
Friday	Sharing the Planet:  Students will explore parts of a plant and plant life cycles.  With this information, students will “Invent a Plant” in which their plant has to make appropriate adaptations for survival.

Extra! Extra! Chavura News

Students should be using Quizlet at home several times each week to practice their Wordly Wise vocabulary words. Remember to check your child’s “Keep at Home” folder each Monday! We look forward to first quarter conferences.  If you haven’t yet signed up, please follow the link sent to your email.