Week of 3/27

We are in the home-stretch before Spring Break! We have a busy week of learning, so let's work together to be sure the kiddos are focused so they can finish the quarter strong! We'll be taking Student Growth Assessments this week. These tests are similar to benchmark tests, and they help inform our instruction in order to meet the needs of all students for the last quarter and for the SOL testing in May. I know they'll rock the tests as long as they use the strategies they've learned! 

Here's what else is happening this week in room 5:

Language Arts: 
Skills/strategies: We are working on a book study on The Perilous Road, which is a story told from a young boy's perspective of the Civil War. We are tying in many reading skills such as making predictions, drawing conclusions, formulating questions, and many more as we read this exciting book.


Please be sure that your child is reading nightly. Studies show that daily reading shows significant growth in vocabulary development and overall achievement. We want our kids to LOVE books and become lifelong readers, so we must work together to foster that love of reading. 

Math:
Students did a great job on our fractions unit - I was so proud of their progress! Now we are on to measurement. We'll be working on customary and metric length and volume this week. There will likely be a length quiz on Friday -stay tuned to the agenda. Students should be studying nightly because they have to know and be able to apply measurement equivalents - i.e. how many quarts in a gallon, feet in a yard, etc. 
The portaportal site has some awesome review activities to review math concepts at home: http://www.portaportal.com/ 
I sent the access code via email in the beginning of the year. If you need it again, just email me: devon.day@nn.k12.va.us

Virginia Studies:
We are working on Westward Expansion - reasons why Virginians moved west through the Cumberland Gap. This is an exciting unit where students will be doing research and completing a fun writing task. Be sure to have conversations about what they're learning to help it stick! :) Stay tuned to the agenda for upcoming assessment dates!