MATH\SOCIAL STUDIES\SCIENCE APRIL11-15, 2011

MATH: We will be doing a spiral review this week. This is a review of all the concepts we have seen this year and we will focus on any area that the class needs to re-enforce.

Our time test will be a multiplication review of x0 - x9. The test will be on Thursday, April 14th.


SCIENCE: The class will continue with pollution, Part II, Saving our Rainforessts. There will be a test on Wednesday, April 13th. All the information will be in the Science notebook which the class
may take home over the weekend.

Have a great week,

Kathy Vega

Literacy News for Week of April 11-15

Literacy News: April 11-15

Word wall words:
1. gross
2. quiet
3.quit
4. answer
5. decided

The test will be on Friday. The Language skill we will be testing is prefixes and suffixes. Students will be identifying these words in the sentences. They should also follow the language rules taught so far.

READING GOALS:
We will be reading two very interesting texts related to the Science unit on Protecting the Earth. These are non-fiction readings, and our focus will be on summarizing by giving the main idea and supporting details.

LANGUAGE GOALS:
This week student will learn about suffixes. They will identify words with suffixed and learn how they change the meanings of the  root words.

WRITING:
Students will start working on a personal narrative. This is going to be an assessment of the 6 traits of writing. They will be expected to write a narrative that shows appropriate: VOICE, ORGANIZATION, IDEAS, SENTENCE FLUENCY, CONVENTIONS, and WORD CHOICE.

NEWS/ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Progress reports for the 4th quarter go out this Friday, April 15. Please check folders.
2. We wish everybody a happy Easter break! We come back to school on the 26th. Enjoy!!

Thank you,
Mrs Paredes

Literacy News: Week of April 4-8

Literacy News: Week of April 4-8

Word Wall Words for the Week: 1. delicious 2. upon 3. since 4. during  5. through


Reading Goals: This week we will continue summarizing non-fiction text. We will do this by finding main idea and important supporting details. We will read a fiction text related to protecting the Earth, and students will work on summarizing this too. Fortunately, students are getting better at summarizing.

Language Goals: We will continue with adjectives that compare. Students will learn the rules for adding er or est to adjectives. See pgs. 404-405 as a reference. In addition, this week students will be learning about prefixes. These are word parts that are added to the beginning of a word in order to change its meaning. As a reference, you may see pages 190-191.

Writing: After working on publishing their fables, students will practice writing summaries using non-fiction text.

News/ Announcements:
1. Character Ed. Presentation: "Pornography, Drug of the New Millennium" is on Thursday from 5:00-6:00 p.m.
2. A note from Mrs. Maduro, our Elementary Art Teacher:

Dear Parents,

Earth day is coming up, and we will be making art with recyclable materials! Please send us your unwanted egg cartons, cardboard toilet paper rolls, and old CDs. We will be collecting these materials with your child or bring them to the Elementary Art Room (in front of the Elementary Principal's office). Thank you in advance for your help!

MATH\SOCIAL STUDIES\SCIENCE APRIL 4-8, 2011

MATH: This week we are going to focus on word problems, choose a process: add, subtract, multiply, divide. This is a week long unit that will include two assessments (Thursday and Friday). Our weekly time test for Wednesday, April 6, will be divide by 9.

SCIENCE: Our air pollution test will be on Tuesday, April 5th. The science notebooks will go home on Friday. Please review Protect Our Earth, Part 1, Air Pollution. We will begin a new unit on saving Rain Forrests.

Have a good week,

Mrs. Vega

MATH\SOCIAL STUDIES\SCIENCE MAR. 28 - APR. 1, 2011

MATH: We will complete a one week unit on capacity. This will include customary units (cups, pints, quarts & gallons) and metric units (milliliter and liter). The corresponding pages in Math Connects text are pages 423-434. There will be a test on Friday covering both customary and metric units. Our weekly time test will be divide by 8 on Wednesday.



SCIENCE: Our unit on air pollution will continue with all pertinent information in our science notebooks. The class is discussing Earth's atmosphere, air as a mixture of gasses, the causes of our pollution, the ozone layer, smog, the effects of air pollution on humans and solutions to this problem. The test will not be until Tuesday, April 5th. This will give the class a chance to take home their notebooks over the coming weekend (Protect our Earth, Part 1, Air Pollution).

Have a good week,

Kathy Vega

Literacy News for Week of March 28-April 1

Literacy News

March 28-April 1

Word Wall Words:
1. picture
2. several
3. learn
4. being
5. heard
*The test will be on Friday/April 1, and the grammar skill we will assess is identifying nouns.



Reading Goals:
This week students will continue working on summarizing fiction text. We will read a non-fiction book and start working on creating a summary. First, I will model how to do it, while asking students to help. Then, we will do it together (I will help and guide students). Finally, students will work on doing their own summaries of non-fiction text.

Language Goals:
This week students will learn about adjectives (words that describe nouns). We will be looking at adjectives that tell what kind and how many. They will learn to identify adjectives in sentences. To reinforce this skill at home, look at Language book pages: 398-401

Writing:
Students are very excited about writing their own fables. As we do, we are going over the 6 Writing traits. This week they will proofread and publish the fables they have been working on.

Thank you,
Mrs. Lila Paredes

Literacy News for Week of March 21-25

Literacy News for the

Week of March 21-25

The new word wall words for this week are:
1. down
2. been
3. find
4. necessary
5. possible


Reading Goals:
This week students will learn what is a summary, and how to make a summary of fiction stories. We will start by modeling, then we will do it together, and finally, students will write a short summary on their own. We will be using fables to make summaries. A good way to teach how to summarize fiction stories is by using the 4 W + 1H. Who is in the story? Where did it take place? What happened (problem)? Why? How is the problem solved? On Friday/March 25, students will have a test to show their summarizing skills. They will be expected to write a 3-4 sentence summary of a fiction text.


Writing and Language:
This week and the next, students will be working on writing a fable. We will be reviewing the 6 Traits of writing that students have learned throughout the year. They will write a fable, completing and revising and editing one step at a time. They will create their plan, they will create a great lead, and they will organize the story before they write it. The story will be written in steps: beginning, middle, and end. After each step, we will revise and edit. Our goal is to have a final writing piece with an excellent performance in all the 6 Writing Traits: organization, ideas, voice, sentence structure, word choice, and conventions.

News and Announcements:

1. Parent- Teacher Conferences are on Friday/March 25, from 11:30-3:00. The signup sheet is already outside our door. Please come sign up. Students will be dismissed at 11:15 am.
2. Color's day will be on Thursday/March 24. Again, Moto Minutas will be here on this day selling snow cones for Lps.15. Students may pay Lps. 5 for colors day only, or they can pay Lps.20 for both the color's day and a snow cone ticket. In this hot weather, children enjoy the snow cones so much!
3. This Friday, during Parent -Teacher conferences, there will be a Scholastic Book sale taking place. It's a great opportunity to buy books for your children at very good prices. Make sure you stop by!
4. Earth Hour is coming up soon: Saturday/March 26 from 8:30-9:30. It is a time to turn off the lights to save electricity. It is a world wide event. Join in and help our planet!


Thank you,
Mrs. Lila Paredes

MATH\SOCIAL STUDIES\SCIENCE MAR. 21-25, 2011

MATH: This week we will continue our unit on fractions. Our focus will be equivalent fractions, ordering and comparing fractions and mixed numbers. There will be a test on Thursday, March 24th. Our time test will be on Wednesday, dividing by 7.

SCIENCE: Our new science unit will be on protecting the Earth. We will begin with pollution. All information for this unit will be entered in their science notebook.

I look forward to speaking with you at parent conferences on Friday.

Have a great week,

Kathy Vega

MATH\SOCIAL STUDIES\SCIENCE MAR. 14-18, 2011

MATH: Next week the class will begin a unit on fractions, The corresponding pages for our two week unit are in the old green math book; pages 411-431.

The first test will be to identify fractions, and divide a whole into equal parts, and equivalent fractions on Thursday, March 17th. Our division test will be / 6 on Wednesday, March 16th.

SOCIAL STUDIES: We will continue organizing data with a week unit on probability. The corresponding pages in the old green math book are pages 499-507. A basic test will be given on Friday, March 18th.

Happy Fathers Day,

Mrs. Vega

Literacy News for Week of March 14-18

Literacy News: March 14-18

The new word wall words for this week are:

1. nothing

2. anything

3. someone

4. however

5. ready

The word wall test will be on Friday, March 18. The grammar grade will come from applying language rules learned so far (conventions).

Reading Goals:

This week students will continue working on reading with fluency and expression in their reader's theaters. They will also be exposed to different types of Literature including folk tales, fables, fairy tales, myths, legends, and poetry.

Language Goals:

Students will continue practicing writing, applying the rules for using commas and quotation marks.

Writing Goals:

Students have already learned about the 6 traits of writing. The next writing project is very exciting! Students will be writing a fable of their own, applying what they have learned in class. We will be checking for good and clear ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.

News/Announcements:

1. The Miles for Smiles' final mile will be after school on Thursday!! Many students have signed up to help with this good cause. After the students complete the final mile, there will be refreshments and treats waiting for them. Please see the announcement on the right. The donations for Operation Smile (given by the sponsors) is due on Wednesday, March 16, the day before the race. See you there!

2. Father's Day celebration is this Friday, March 18. It will be from 10:30 to 11:20a.m. Do not miss it, dads! Your children have a special surprise planned for you!

Thank you,

Mrs. Lila Paredes

Lit. News: Week of March 7-11, 2011

Literacy News: March 7-11

The new word wall words are:

1. between

2. practice

3. lonely

4. each

5. turn

Please continue practicing these and all other words on a regular basis. The test will be on Friday, and we will be focusing on following all grammar rules taught this year (conventions). Use of capitals, puntuation marks, commas, quotation marks, etc...)

Reading Goals:

This week students are going to be working on reading with fluency and expression. We will be share reading two different plays, to practice this skill. Then, a part will be assigned to each student. They will be participating the Readers' Theater in class. They will get an oral language grade in the final presentation of their part, which will be next week.

Language and Writing Goals:

As part of the last writing trait: CONVENTIONS, we will be reviewing different language rules students must master before 4th grade. This review will be helpful for them to write their final writing piece for CONVENTIONS. They will be working on this piece throughout the week.

News/Announcements:

1. March 10 is the last day of the 3rd quarter.

2. Mark your calendar: Spring break is on Friday/March 11. Enjoy the long weekend.

3. Mark your calendar: Father's Day Celebration will be Friday/March 18 from 10:30-11:20a.m.

Thank you,

Mrs. Lila Paredes

MATH\SOCIAL STUDIES\SCIENCE MAR. 7-11, 2011

MATH: In math we will continue to review area and volume. Our division test will be divide by 0 to 5 on Wednesday, March 9th.

SOCIAL STUDIES: We will be looking at coordinate grids and completing activities that will be graded in class. The reference pages in the new Math Connect text book are 494-496. We will also be working with input and output tables. The reference pages for input and output tables are 348-351.

Please keep in mind that Friday, March 11th is a school holiday.

Have a great week,

Kathy Vega

Literacy News for Week of Feb. 28-March 4

Literacy News:

Week of February 28-March 4

The new word wall words for this week are:
1. than
2. keep
3. listen
4. shirt
5. awesome

Reading Goals:
We will continue discussing how characters' actions and what they say help us learn more about them. We will be ending our unit on analyzing characters this week.
We will also start a unit on identifying facts from opinions. We will be reading and discussing what are facts and opinions as we read several fiction and non-fiction books and short passages.

Language Goals:
This week students will continue practicing the use of quotation marks. As part of our Writing Unit: Conventions, students will also review their knowledge of the use of commas, and they'll learn and list where commas are needed in their writing.

Writing Goals:
This week students will put together what they know about writing conventions. They will be writing a story: using commas and quotation marks correctly, clear and complete sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation. This writing piece ties up wonderfully with our reading focus: analyzing character traits. Students will show how their main character is by how he/she acts and says, giving a clear picture of the character's traits throughout their story.

News/Announcements:
* We are close the end of the 3rd quarter. This quarter ends on March 10. Please make sure your child is completing all the homework and encourage him/her to continue working hard. The last quarter is as important as any other. They need to hang in there and show their best!

Thank you,
Lila Paredes

MATH\SOCIAL STUDIES\SCIENCE FEB 28 - MAR 4, 2011

MATH: This week the class will be working with area and volume. On Thursday, March 3rd there will be a test covering both areas. Corresponding pages in the old green math text are pages 343-347. On Wednesday, March 2nd our weekly math test will be dividing by 5.

SOCIAL STUDIES: The class will concentrate on organizing data: pictographs, tally marks and bar graphs. On Friday, March 4th, the class will be tested. For review, this information is in the old green math text pages 26-31. In the new Math Concepts text the pages are 515-539. Either text can be used.

Have a great week,

Kathy Vega

LITERACY NEWS: WEEK OF FEB. 21-25

Literacy News: February 21-25

The new word wall words are:
1. type
2. piece
3. peace
4. just
5. crazy
The test will be on Friday, Feb. 25. Please remember to review all word wall words on a regular basis. The Language focus on this test will be the use of quotations.


Language Goals:
This week we will work on practicing how to use quotations in their writing. As a reference, they will use a poster with a list of rules or tips for using quotations that students have written. As a reference you may see the Language book pgs: 420-421.


Reading Goals:
This week we will continue working on analyzing the character/s in a story based on how they act, what they do, say, and by looking at the illustrations. Students will have a test on analyzing characters this Thursday, Feb. 24.

Writing Goals:
We are focusing on the 6th writing trait: Conventions. We are reviewing different Language rules that we apply in our writing such as writing complete and clear sentences and avoiding run on sentences in our writing. Students will also be practicing writing dialogues between characters in a story showing correct use of quotation marks. Also, students will pick a character trait and write a short story where they (the authors) will show the reader what the character is like by what he/she says and does in the story. This ties very nicely with analyzing the characters.

News/Announcements:
*This Friday/Feb 25 will be a color's day for Lps. 5. If your child would like to buy an ice cone from Moto Minutas, please send an additional Lps. 15 so he/she can receive their snow cone on Friday.

Thank you,
Mrs. Lila Paredes