Room 23 Newsletter 1

Spelling/Vocabulary/Grammar Due to special events, snow days, etc. we have taken a break from vocabulary. We will resume vocabulary the week of April 8. In grammar, we continued our study of verbs. We learned about the different verb tenses: past, present, and future, and learned how to change verb endings to reflect the tenses. Our past Words of the Week have been instigate and sluggish.

Math We recently finished up Chapter 11 in math, which was fraction computation. We concluded the chapter learning how to multiply fractions, take fractions of quantities, divide fractions by whole numbers, divide whole numbers by fractions, and divide fractions and mixed numbers. We just began our next math unit, geometry. We learned about points, lines, line segments, rays, parallel lines, intersecting lines, and perpendicular lines. We learned how to say, write, and draw all of these concepts. In this unit students will learn how to name, measure and construct angles, identify angle types, learn about complimentary and supplementary angles, learn characteristics of polygons, learn how to classify triangles and quadrilaterals, learn about symmetry, congruence, and similarity, and learn how to find perimeter, area, volume, and surface area. Our first geometry quiz will be Friday, April 12 and the second quiz will be Friday, May 3.

ROOM 23 NEWSLETTER Volume 6, Issue 12 March 22, 2013

Upcoming Events

March 27 – Early Release March 29 – No School, Good Friday April 2 & 4 – ELA MCAS April 4 – Jump Rope for Heart, 6:15-7PM

Writing We finished up our first drafts of our fictional mystery stories, our Burdick stories. Students peer edited with a classmate and made revisions. We will begin presenting our stories with our pictures next week. Students continue to present their March talking calendars. April talking calendar projects are due Monday, April 1.

Curriculum Update

MCAS Dates I just want to give everyone a heads up on the 5th grade MCAS dates: English Language Arts (ELA)

Tuesday, April 2 & Thursday, April 4 Math

Wednesday, May 15 & Thursday, May 16 Science Monday, May 20 & Tuesday, May 21 There will be no homework on the nights before and during MCAS. Please make sure your child gets a good night’s rest and eats a healthy breakfast. Also, for MCAS it would be much appreciated if you could send your child in with a snack that does not make a lot of noise and that is relatively neat. Lastly, in Room 23 we do not permit the students to chew gum during MCAS.

Room 23 Newsletter 2

Other Notes… Pi Day We celebrated Pi Day (March 14, because pi is 3.14) in Room 23 on Thursday, March 14. We had a blast discovering where the number comes from and what it represents (the circumference of a circle divided by the diameter). We read some great books about Sir Cumference and Lady Di of Ameter, and their son Radius, to learn more about pi. We had five centers where students completed an activity related to pi. Be sure to check out the slideshow on the Photos page of our website. Dance Program We have had a few sessions with Island Moving Company, a dance company from Newport, RI that has been a part of P.E. classes. Students have learned how to use simple movements to create a dance performance.

Social Studies & Science The students are currently learning about vertebrates and invertebrates with Ms. Martin, Mrs. Abba’s long-term substitute. The students have learned about how to classify animals, the differences between invertebrates and vertebrates, as well as characteristics of certain organisms. Students also investigated a variety of mammal skulls and using what they learned, they had to try and identify what mammal the skull was from.

Reading We have finished our spring reading assessments. We have started learning about poetry. We talked about the difference between prose and poetry, students were exposed to the variety of types of poems that exist, and we watched an interview with a poet to learn about how poets go about writing poems and where they get their inspiration. We brainstormed where we can get inspiration to write poems. We learned about our first type of poems, concrete poems, sometimes called shape poems. These poems are written in the shape of the topic they are about. For example, if a poem is about a tornado, the words would be written on the page so that they create the shape of a tornado. We wrote a concrete poem together in class about basketball. Then, students chose a topic of their choice and wrote their own concrete poem about their chosen topic. Next week we will begin reviewing for the English/Language Arts MCAS, which will take place on Tuesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 4. After MCAS, we will be starting up another round of book groups.

If you are leaving early or returning late for April vacation, please let us and the office know, as soon as possible!

Contacting US Phone: 781-455-0466, ext. 223 E-mail: maura_cromwell@needham.k12.ma.us erin_crandall@needham.k12.ma.us jennifer_hansford@needham.k12.ma.us