McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin

for the week of May 18, 2015

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Reading Workshop

The school year is winding down, for sure, but we remain in learning mode!  At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.  Readers are using what we know about literary essays to support ideas we’re growing about our mentor text, Just Juice.  We’ve been keeping notes in our readers’ notebooks about the family’s financial situation (social issue: poverty), the possibility that Pa can’t read (social issue: illiteracy), and the fact that Juice avoids going to school (social issue: truancy).  Today, students wrote a beefy paragraph to explain their thinking about the Faulstitches’ money troubles.  To write a strong paragraph, we incorporated our learning from our literary essay writing unit: intro, evidence from the story, sentences that explain how those details connect to our idea, transitions, an expert voice, and a concluding sentence.  It is so gratifying to see the carryover from one “subject” to another.  It means students are owning these strategies and craft moves!

Writing Workshop

We continue to strengthen our knowledge of and experience with poetry.  Students are using a checklist (which I will use to assess their writing) to help them as they write.  At the beginning of the poetry unit, many students wanted to know, “What makes a good poem?”  And so from the start of the unit, we have incorporated this checklist into our daily work.  We’re using it to remind us about the parts of poetry that we need to pay attention to as we write (stanzas, line breaks, punctuation) and how to revise in order to raise the level of sophistication in our word choice: using figurative language, repetition, and emphasis.  Then we use it evaluate our works-in-progress and let it guide us to revise further.  To use a written resource to guide writing is a skill I think is important, and it’s one that students need to be explicitly taught.  It will help students gain independence and accountability to push their work when they otherwise might say, “Yup, I’m done.  I looked it over” -- whatever that means!

Math

This week seemed to fly by but we did start working on the concepts of perimeter and area of rectangles. Students participated in a fun activity called Perimeter Scoot.

Theme

This week we had a blast dissecting owl pellets and comparing the bones of other animals to our own.  Students took a field trip to Lewiston to see Bodyology, an interactive one hour show about the human body and its systems.  We also learned about joints and started learning about muscles.  Next week we will begin to host some of our guest speakers.  On Wednesday we’ll have Stacey Carlson, who works in physical therapy, and Christine Irish, who is an emergency room doctor.  

Even though it’s two weeks away, I wanted folks to be anticipating our last quiz of the year on Friday, June 5th.  As always, you’ll receive a study guide as the time draws near.  The quiz will cover the skeletal and muscular systems.

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

Monday, May 25th - No School

Tuesday, May 26th - 4th Grade Musical @ 6:30pm (students need to meet their homeroom teacher in the cafeteria at 6:15)  More details below!

Wednesday, May 27th - Full Day / Project ACES

Thursday, May 28th - ABL Full Day Celebration

Friday, May 29th -

**Math and spelling homework are done for the year.  With end-of-the-year activities and the (usually) good weather, we hope kids will be outside and enjoying time with friends and family!**

The 4th grade musical will be Tuesday, May 26th at 6:30pm.  Students need to arrive at 6:15pm.  Dress code for the performance is a white top and dark bottoms (shorts, pants, capris, skirt...).  For the best view of our kids, plan to sit on the far righthand side of the gym.

Today, students tie-dyed shirts for a Project ACES activity on Wednesday, 5/27.  We will keep the shirts here, and students will have time to change into them on Wednesday afternoon.  The shirts will remain at school so that they can be worn again on Thursday for the ABL Celebration Day.

Our last ABL class will be Thursday, May 28th.  It’s looking to be hot next week and we will be outside for almost the entire day.  It would be smart for your child to have sunblock (applied before leaving home in the morning and extra to re-apply), a hat/sunglasses, and a refillable water bottle.  Students will have regular snack, lunch, and recess times.

There is a notice in take home folders about hula hooping.  This activity will take place on the last Friday of the year (6/12).  The PTO has generously covered the majority of the cost.  Please send $2 to school next week to cover the remainder.  Students will be decorating a handmade, weighted hula hoop that they can take home, and they will be learning some hooping strategies!