April 7-11, 2014

Lifeskill or Life-long Guideline of the week: Organization

Math rd 3 - This week in math, students will be focusing on time and temperature. We will be using hands on materials to build our understanding of how to read clocks and thermometers. Students will be able recognize the differences between the hour and minute hands. We will explore the usage of thermometers through the integration of weather during math. Students are expected to know how use a thermometer to measure temperature. Also, they will tell and write time shown on analog and digital clocks. They will use their prior knowledge of skip counting to assist their understanding of these areas. 4 - This week 4th grade will be exploring measurement concepts including, estimating using a ruler to determine the length, area, capacity and weight/mass using both the metric system and customary units. Students will learn to perform simple conversions between different units of length, capacity and weigh within the customary measurement system. Students will review perimeter, area as well as using concrete models of standard cubic units to estimate and measure volume. Finally students will use tools such as a thermometer to measure temperature and calculate changes in temperature, and a clock to solve problems involving elapsed time.
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Poetry This week in reading, students will continue working on poetry. We will be exploring poetry through various authors, poets, and our very own students. Students will be able to identify parts of the poem, such as stanzas, lines, rhymes, rhyming scheme, and meters. Also, students will be able to identify and understand the different characteristics of humorous, lyrical, free verse, narrative, concrete, and black out poetry. We will be using our collected knowledge of poetry to find the message the poet is sending the readers. We will also be using our deduction skills to understand poetry and find evidence to prove our understanding. Finally, students will be diving into poetry to experiencing it with their five senses. In writing, the students will continue to have poetry workshop to have the opportunity to freely write. We are learning various ways to find inspiration in writing by listing out feelings, thoughts, and images that comes mind. Then, we transfer the list into lines and stanzas of our poems. If time, write poetry with your child to explore poetry, figurative language, and fun! Earth Day Fair Earth Day Fair will be on Friday, May 2! Your child will either need to bring their lunch or purchase a sack lunch (no trays) from the caf on that day. If your child chooses to bring their lunch from home, we encourage them to continue to use lunch boxes and Tupperware rather than paper sacks and plastic baggies so we can participate in the least waste contest. !

The Revolution of Texas In social studies, students will continue to expand their knowledge of the Texas Revolution. We have finished learning Texas path towards independence, and we will be getting more in depth with the major people and events that took place. The students will be using their knowledge of text features to do research about specific people and battles. The students will be focusing on the importance of what happened, how it contributed to the Independence of Texas, and any interesting or surprising facts that they came across. They will gain perspective of the revolution through their research topics. Students will be working in pairs or groups of three to support in each others learning. This week the students will be moving from the research to the art piece. Students will be crafting hands on representation of the topics, as well as themselves as artists. They will exercise their creativity to express knowledge through art. Students will analyze the causes, major events, and effects of the Texas Revolution, including the Battle of the Alamo, the Texas Declaration of Independence, the Runaway Scrape, and the Battle of San Jacinto. Also, the students will be able to identify individual that contributed to the revolution, such as Texians William B. Travis, James Bowie, David Crockett, George Childress, and Sidney Sherman; important leaders such as Jose Antonio Navarro, Sam Houston, Mirabeau Lamar, and Anson Jones. *Ask your child about their research topic. Important Notes and Events! STAAR Dates: rd 3 & 4th Grade: April 22-Math, April 23-Reading *The school will provide an optional breakfast that morning for students on STAAR days. The breakfast will most likely be a biscuit or toast, and either sausage or chicken patty. If your child chooses to eat school breakfast on testing days, please make sure they arrive to school NO LATER THAN 7:30am to ensure we begin testing on time that day. Mahlstadt/Svrcek/Kang Wax Museum Date: April 17, 2014 Where: Brentwood Elementary School, Room #309/311 Time: 10:45-11:30am *Please visit our wiki page for information about our class: http://mahlstadtsvrcek2-3class.wikispaces.com/ *Please check the calendar online every week as dates do change. http://mahlstadtsvrcek2-3class.wikispaces.com/Calendar