April 20 - May 4

Hi Families,

So it is crazy as I title this post that I'm actually writing May...it will be May next week already!! It's hard to believe that we are getting so close to the end of the school year. As we are nearing the end of this year, there are many exciting events coming up -- including a NEW Zoo Field Trip and Animal Showcase!

Reminders/Updates

• Field Trip permission slips were sent home this week for the NEW Zoo on May 15th! Please return the slip and money as soon as possible. Let me know if you need another copy. 
• We will be having our Animal Showcase on May 11th from 8:30-9:15 in the cafeteria. All are welcome!
• We finished ALL the Wisconsin Forward tests! To celebrate our class's hard work and effort, we'll be having an ice cream party! 
• The date of the party will be Friday, May 11th.
• If you are interested in bringing a topping, you can sign up here

Upcoming Events

May 8: Reading MAP test
May 10: Math MAP test
May 11: Animal Showcase 8:30-9:15 in cafeteria
May 11: Ice Cream Party Celebration

May 15: NEW Zoo Field trip 8:30-2:30
May 18: Ms. Feldkamp gone - Substitute Teacher all day

May 22: Family Night: Tailgate
May 25: NO SCHOOL

May 28: NO SCHOOL

June 4: "B" = Bright Colors/Sunglasses
June 5: "Y" = You're Active/Workout Wear for Field Day
June 6: "E" = bE you! Wear whatever makes you, YOU!
June 6: 11:30 Dismissal and LAST day of school!

Curriculum Update

Math: Mathematicians have been enjoying this measurement unit! They have been asking so many good questions about units (is a quart the same as a liter? Which is bigger-a milliliter or an ounce? Are metric units listed on our bottles?) I've been encouraging them to be on the lookout at home for containers that have their measurements listed on them (soup cans, milk jugs, a bag of chips, storage containers, etc.) We'll continue working with word problems with liquid volume and weight in both the customary and metric systems. We'll take this unit's test on Friday, May 4th. Let me know if you have any questions or problems with the review! I also added a review to Think Central if you'd like extra practice. 

Writing: Our writers started their second informational book about their second animal...they know SO much already! We've been working on elaborating by explaining facts and adding in our own ideas to interest our readers. Next week, students will edit their book and complete their draft booklet. We'll start our final informational book: a "Who Would Win" book comparing and contrasting the two animals they're experts on! 

Word Study:  We started a new unit this week - Unit 10! I'll send the Unit 10 Word Study packets home Monday. This is a two week unit, so they will be due (flexibly) on May 11th. In this unit, we'll be working on writing words with double vowels, or two vowels that together make one sound (like plAY or bAIt). The trick words this week are great, country, and away. 

Reading: This week students continued researching their second animal. We have a room full of experts on our hands! Students also started finding BIG theories they are noticing not just about one animal, but many animals. We will continue this higher-level thinking work this coming week. We will also start comparing and contrasting our two animals that we are experts on! Doing all of this work will help students begin the process of creating their animal "booth!" They are already SO excited about this!

*Scholastic forms were sent home! They will be due on Wednesday, May 16!

Content: The topic of this week’s science mystery is dinosaurs: how do we know what they looked like on the outside, when all we have of them are fossil bones? Why are we always depicting them as scaly lizards? Your child will learn how we can infer what the outside of an animal looks like, by using clues about their skeleton. We are also exploring how the structure of an animal’s teeth say something about what kind of food the animal preferred to eat (i.e. meat, plants, or both). Dinosaurs are very exciting and so are likely to be a topic on your child’s mind these next few weeks. You can continue to stoke this interest by choosing to watch an educational program on dinosaurs together, such as Walking with Dinosaurs. If you have any toothed pets, such as a cat, dog, or even hamster, you can also invite your child to classify these living animals as herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore by observing their teeth.

Know that you can always contact me with any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful weekend!

Best,

Jenny