May 9

Mrs. Cox and I would like to thank all of you for making Teacher Appreciation Week so special for us. We feel very loved and we want you to know how much your cards, notes, gifts, and hugs meant to us!!! 

***** DATE CHANGE: On Tuesday, May 10, your child will be completing their end-of-year Achieve3000 levelset on the computer. This is a very important tool used to show reading growth for the year. Please encourage your child to do his/her best. They have set personal goals and will see immediate feedback on how they perform. I will send home an update on Wednesday.

This Thursday and Friday are BSE Multicultural Days. We will be able to see and experience music, dancing, and art from around the world. Mrs. Cox will be teaching and sharing about her home country of Panama and Mrs. Kluge will teach about Germany. 

This Friday is PTA Bounce and Boogie Night from 6:00 - 8:00 PM. There will be no cost for the activities. The food trucks will be on site instead of the clubhouse. 

Resources this week:

Cox:
Tuesday: Music
Wednesday: PE

Kluge:

Monday: Art

Wednesday: Music

ELA: Last week in reading, students worked in teams and presented their ideas for main idea and key details about the water cycle. Below are some photos:

This week, we will continue to study the water cycle and will revisit the ratio of freshwater and saltwater on Earth by completing a visual study. We will use 1000 mL of water to represent all of Earth's water. We will separate this into freshwater and saltwater. Finally, we will separate the freshwater into the freshwater in glaciers, groundwater, lakes/rivers, and soil/air. I think this will be very surprising and a great way to really see how precious our freshwater is!

We will also have an end of unit assessment in which students will need to determine the main idea of an article and answer questions based on key details.

MATH: This week in math we will deepen our understanding of fractions by recognizing and showing that equivalent fractions have the same size, though not necessarily the same shape.  Expressing whole numbers on the number line when the unit interval is 1 and explaining equivalence by manipulating units and reasoning about their size.

Example of equivalent fractions with different shapes:

Example of equivalent fractions by manipulating units:

Homework for the week:

Module 5 Lesson 20

Module 5 Lesson 25

Module 5 Lesson 27

Things to practice and review at home:

Continue to review  multiplication and division facts 2 to 10  

Practice solving two step word problems involving all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

Please check out our DCPS site http://www.duvalschools.org/Page/17284

for homework help and strategies to help with solving homework problems. 

SCIENCE: Here are Mrs. Cox and students checking out their fast germinating seeds!

 We are reviewing topics learned and using study guides to begin preparing for our upcoming end of year Science assessment on May 23^rd.  

April 25

Wednesday, April 27 is early release.
There will be no school this Friday, April 29.

2016-2017 Extended Day Pre-Registration

PLACE: Bartram Springs Elementary School   (In the lunchroom)

Dates: Monday, May 2, 2016

            Tuesday, May 3, 2016

            Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Time:  4:00-7:00 p.m.

Resources this week:
Cox:
Wednesday: ART
Thursday: ART
Kluge:
Monday: PE

ELA: Students will complete their informational paragraphs about where water is on earth which is part of their mid-module assessment. They will also answer several questions based on one of the articles we have read. The second half of this unit will focus on two science topics: Why there is a shortage of water AND how rivers and streams change the earth as they flow downhill to lakes and oceans. Students will work on determining main idea and key details which support the main idea. They will also begin planning a new informational writing piece about the water shortage.

We have some new vocabulary from our texts. These words are great to use in discussion at home.
erosion: when water cuts into the earth
elevated area: a place that is higher than the land around it
deposits: soil, sand and rocks that are dropped off by running water
source: a place
task: work that needs to be done
statement: the act of saying something in words or in writing

MATH: This week in math the students will complete cutting out and assembling the parts of their robot from grid paper, and compare their robots with their peers’.  They will have an opportunity for peer review and critique, and also for discussion about the difference between the areas of robots and their environments despite the fact that they have the same given perimeters.  We will be evaluating completed work using the rubric below.

Homework for the week:

Complete 1 i-Ready lesson daily

 Things to practice and review at home:

Practice identifying number patterns using multiplication, addition or subtraction strategies.

Continue to review  multiplication and division facts 2 to 10  

Practice solving two step word problems involving all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

Please check out our DCPS site http://www.duvalschools.org/Page/17284

for homework help and strategies to help with solving homework problems.  

SCIENCE: We will begin classifying plants into major groups, such as flowering and nonflowering plants, based on physical characteristics.  The students will also begin to classify animals into major groups according to their characteristics and behaviors.  

April 18

Our field trip to the Math Maniac Show with Max Millions at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts is Tuesday, April 19th. Our buses will leave around 8:45 so being on time is important. The show begins at 10:15. Please bring a sack lunch and a beach towel that day. 


Resources this week:

Cox:

Thursday: music

Friday: pe and media

Kluge:

Friday: music

ELA: Last week, as we began to explore water around the world, Students worked in small groups to teach the rest of the class about a water source they researched. The presentations were great and this was a excellent way for students to work on determining the most key details and also their presentation skills. It was a lot of fun!

As you saw last week, reading homework has changed. Now, students are expected to read and complete the IRR (independent reading recording form). They did a great job last week! Also please continue to encourage lessons on Achieve 3000. We will have a final levelset assessment in May. Students made their final goals last week and are working toward raising their Lexile levels.

This week, we will begin addressing writing prompts similar to the prompts students will complete in fourth grade. Our first prompt will be:

The passages you read were about water. Write an essay in which you give information about the most major contributions for the shortages of water. Use information from the passages in your essay. 

We will take this new kind of writing step by step and will learn strategies that will help to keep the writing organized and clear.

MATH: This week in math the students will solve word problems with perimeter and area.  They will focus on solving a variety of word problems involving perimeter using multiplication and division strategies.  The students will begin to use rectangles to draw a robot with specified perimeter measurements and reason about the different areas that may be produced.  They will use rectangles and circles to measure, create, and analyze robots and environments for the robots using specified perimeter measurements.  They will reason about different whole number side lengths that may be produced.  When given the requirements that the perimeter of the arms of the robot must be 14 inches students will experiment and draw different possibilities for rectangles to determine which ones they prefer for the robot’s arms based on their explorations with unit squares.  The students will assemble the parts of the robot from grid paper and construction paper and will compare their robots with their classmates.  They will discuss the differences between areas of robots and their environments.

Example word problem and solution:

Drew makes rectangular shoes for his robot.  Each shoe has whole number side lengths and an area of 7 square centimeters.  What is the total perimeter of both shoes?  Is there more than one answer?  Why or why not?

Homework:                                                                                        

Module 7 Lesson 24

Module 7 Lesson 25

Module 7  Lesson 26

 Things to practice and review at home:

Practice identifying number patterns using multiplication, addition or subtraction strategies.

Continue to review  multiplication and division facts 2 to 10  

Practice solving two step word problems involving all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

Please check out our DCPS site http://www.duvalschools.org/Page/17284

for homework help and strategies to help with solving homework problems.  You may also

SCIENCE:

We will continue learning about plants focusing on roots and how they help plants grow.  The students will learn how plants respond to different stimuli and learn the differences between flowering and nonflowering plants. They will continue learning about seeds and the life cycle of plants.

April 11

Dear Parents,
We were so proud of how our students took the FSA testing so seriously. They used their knowledge, strategies, learning, and gave it their all for sure! Results won't be here until some time in May. We will let you know the day we receive scores. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement at home!
Mrs. Kluge and Mrs. Cox.

Wednesday is Early Release! We have fewer resources due to 4th and 5th grade FSA testing. So... we will have RECESS on non-resource days! Yay!

Resources this week:
Cox:
Friday: art
Kluge:
Tuesday: pe

ELA: We finished Peter Pan last week! We compared the novel to the 1953 movie version and we were shocked at the many differences. We recorded similarities and differences during the movie and we will complete a writing activity during work centers to share our comparisons.

Our new unit will focus on the importance of clean freshwater around the world. Our central text will be One Well: The Story of Water on Earth written by Rochelle Strauss.

In unit one of our final module, we will continue to build geography and map-reading skills by studying where water is found on earth. We will write informational paragraphs to explain this. We will also examine the water cycle and watersheds and will compare how different texts present similar information about these two topics. This will be excellent preparation for fourth grade writing. 

This week, we will discover how all water on earth is connected and has been here since the beginning of time. The text will provide some surprising facts about water on earth as well. 

Some important new vocabulary will be found in the following sentence:

"All water on Earth is connected, so there is just one source of water -- one global well -- from which we all draw our water."

These words would be great to discuss at home this week!

In writing, we will start to learn about two types of writing prompts which will be a big part of fourth grade. The type of prompt determines how a writer organizes his/her piece.

Opinion prompt: "After reading the text, would you support having uniforms in school or not having uniforms in school? Give information from the text to support your opinion."

Informative prompt: "The text discusses the practice of recycling. Write an informative piece explaining how recycling is a positive thing for a community. Use evidence from the text to support your answer."

Our first assessment will be an on-demand paragraph answering the question, Where is Water on Earth? Students will explain using specific facts, definitions and details from the texts they have read in their informative paragraphs. They will use a familiar graphic organizer we have used all year.

TOPIC:

DETAIL:

     EXPLAIN:

DETAIL:

     EXPLAIN:

CONCLUSION:

Math:

This week in math the students will be solving one- and two-step word problems using the four operations.  They will represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity.  The students will use concepts learned throughout the year to determine appropriate strategies. We will use modeling and reasoning to develop solution paths. The students will independently make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, share their solutions and critique peer strategies.  We will measure the perimeter of various circles to the nearest quarter inch and use all four operations to solve problems involving perimeter and missing measurements.  The students will construct rectangles with a given perimeter using unit squares and determine their areas.

Example problem and strategies for solving problem:

If an adult movie ticket cost $7 and a child ticket is $4, how much would it cost for Tony’s family of 2 adults and 2 children to attend the movies? 

Example problem for missing measurement in perimeter problem:   

Example Problem: Molly builds a rectangular playpen for her pet rabbit. The playpen has an area of 15 square yards. Estimate and label as many possibilities for the playpen.   

Homework:                                                                                        

Module 7 Lesson 3

Module 7 Lesson 16

Module 7  Lesson 17

Module 7 Lesson 18

Module 7 Lesson 20

Things to practice and review at home:

Practice identifying number patterns using multiplication, addition or subtraction strategies.

Continue to review  multiplication and division facts 2 to 10  

Practice solving two step word problems involving all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

Please check out our DCPS site http://www.duvalschools.org/Page/17284

for homework help and strategies to help with solving homework problems.  

Science:

We will be describing structures in plants and their roles in food production, support, water and nutrient transport, and reproduction.  The students will learn how plants respond to heat, light and gravity.

March 28

Welcome back! We hope you had a wonderful Spring Break! We missed you and look forward to seeing you tomorrow! If you worked on your practice packets over the break, please bring them in tomorrow. No RAH log this week due to testing.

Our FSA testing schedule is as follows: Please arrive on time each day. If you are tardy, you may not be able to test with the class and will need to do make-up testing.
Wednesday, March 30: READING DAY 1  EARLY RELEASE
Thursday, March 31: READING DAY 2
Friday, April 1: MATH DAY 1
Monday, April 4: MATH DAY 2

Our resources are:

Cox:

Tuesday: PE

Kluge:

Tuesday: Music

Thursday: PE

Class Photo Order Form: Before Spring Break our students took a class photo.  We sent home the order form from Leonards before break.  You can order them online or return the order form after break.

Make checks or money orders payable to: Leonard's

For easy ordering and to pay by credit card, order online as: 
www.leonards.com/photoprepay

Online Password: G355873

Packages you can order:
1- (one) 8 x 10 Class Group with Border
2- (one) 8 x 10 Class Group with Border with protective coating
3- Class Group on a T-Shirt 

Below are a few photos of some of our Peter Pan Readers Theater presentations... so much fun!

March 14

Don't forget, we do not have school on Friday. Spring Break is Friday, March 18 through Monday, March 28. We will resume on Tuesday, March 29.

An optional reading FSA practice packet was sent home this week. It has FSA style passages and questions with a link for the online answer key. Also, I encourage students to complete a few Achieve articles over break. Mrs. Cox will sending home some math review sheets also! Please look for them this week.

FSA dates:  Please be at school on time each day!
Wednesday, March 30: READING DAY 1
Thursday, March 31: READING DAY 2
Friday, April 1: MATH DAY 1
Monday, April 4: MATH DAY 2

Resources next week:
Cox:
Monday: Computer Lab
Tuesday: Art
Thursday Music
Kluge:
Monday: PE
Tuesday: Computer Lab
Wednesday: Art

March 7

Our spring book fair is this week! Our classes will be going on Tuesday. Family night is Thursday from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. 

Monday evening at 6:00 pm, our DCPS school board representative, Jason Fischer, will hold a Town Hall Meeting on the subject of school curriculum. 

Wednesday is Early Release at 1:40 pm.

Class picture day is Tuesday! Individual pictures will be taken also, but only if prepaid.

Resources this week:

Cox: 

Monday: art

Tuesday: media... Please return all library books! computer lab in ELA

Wednesday: computer lab

Thursday: music

Friday: pe

Kluge:

Monday: computer lab and media... Please return all library books!

Tuesday: art

Wednesday: pe

Friday: music

ELA: This week, we will compare and contrast two excerpts of our novel, Peter Pan with readers theater. Both the excerpt and the readers theater will tell the same part of Peter Pan. Students will learn how drama is organized and how to read this unique genre. They will discover how readers theater tells a story purely through dialogue. This is a great way to work on our fluency, too! 

We will also be reading two texts on the same topic and comparing the themes, plots, characters, and settings. 

Please continue to work on Achieve3000 articles at home. We had 15 students raise their Lexile levels in February!!!

MATH: The students are continuing collecting, categorizing, and analyzing data.  They are analyzing graphs to solve one-and two step problems, including comparison problems.  The students will learn that intervals do not have to be whole numbers, but can also have fractional values to help in recording measurement data.  They will review line plots as tools for displaying measurement data which will include fractions on number lines and create their own line plots to display data.

Homework:                                                                                        

Module 6 Lesson 4

Module 6 Lesson 5

Module 6 Lesson 6

Module 6 Lesson 7

Module 6 Lesson 8

Things to practice and review at home:

Help your child develop an understanding of fractions as numbers by providing opportunities to discuss parts of whole at home.

Practice identifying number patterns using multiplication, addition or subtraction strategies.

Continue to review  multiplication and division facts 2 to 10  (We will be testing our facts weekly.)

Practice solving two step word problems involving all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

Please check out our DCPS site http://www.duvalschools.org/Page/17284

for homework help and strategies to help with solving homework problems.  You may also find the homework videos helpful.

SCIENCE: The students will continue learning about energy and discuss how light and matter interact.  They will explore what happens when light is reflected in many directions.  The students will begin to understand how objects reflect, refract and absorb light.