What's Happening in Room 34........

Things You Should Know....

• An envelope came home on Thursday requesting personal notes from you for your child during M.A.P. testing.  Each morning of testing, I will leave the note of encouragement from you on your child's desk. The students LOVE receiving them!  I often see the notes in their desks, on their clipboards or just sitting on their desks well after MAP testing.  This just shows what a quick note can mean to a child.  This is a surprise for the students, so please keep it a secret and return your notes in the envelope provided.

• The 4th-grade students will have their Growth and Development lesson on Thursday.  The 4th-grade boys and girls' separate lessons will be taught by Nurse Eva.  This is a great opportunity to keep the conversation going at home and be opened and prepared to answer any questions your child may have.

• We have been discussing what it means to be mindful.  This past week, the students have been introduced to a great website, smilingminds.com.  They have been practicing the breathing and relaxation activities from the website.  If you are interested in trying the activities at home, check out the website! 

• Below are the dates our class is scheduled to take the M.A.P. test.  Please try to refrain from scheduling doctor and dentist appointments on these days.

               Monday, April 23rd p.m. - ELA                         

               Wednesday, April 25th a.m. - ELA                     

               Thursday, April 26th a.m. - ELA
               Monday, April 30th p.m. - Math
               Wednesday, May 2nd a.m. - Math

Dates to Remember.....  
             Wednesday:  Early Release
                                  Flyer Families
                                  Literacy on the Lawn (5:00 - 6:30)
             Thursday:  Social Studies Test
                               Dad's and Donuts (8:00 - 8:30)
                               Growth and Development lesson
             Friday:       Library

What's Going on in Our Classroom....

Reader's Workshop:

• The students are doing a great job with their book clubs!  They will continue to read their book this week and meet to discuss their reading with their book club.

Writer's Workshop:

• We will be focusing on writing well-developed paragraphs this week and sighting evidence from a given article.  The students will also have several opportunities to "free write".  We love sharing and listening to each other's writing at the end of each writing class!

Math:

• The students will continue working with area and perimeter and begin geometry later this week.  They will be expected to identify lines, rays, line segments, and angles. Our math stations will review division word problems and customary measurement.

Social Studies

• The students' WebQuest activity on the three branches of government turned out great!  They are displayed in the hallway and pictures are included on the blog.  We will be learning about the Bill of Rights and begin reviewing for our test on Thursday.  The students have created study cards to help prepare for the test.