Welcome to the Rockhopper Village

2017-2018

Rockhopper Reminders

November News!

Curriculum Flash!

Reading:

We are getting to know the issues and themes surrounding the main character, Leigh Botts, as we get deeper in our reading of Dear Mr. Henshaw. Students have been analyzing various characters, they will be designing a burglar alarm and writing about how it works, and our culminating project will be a character development matrix they will create in teams. In direct alignment with our core literature book, author Tyler Enfield will be visiting campus on November 6th. Students will gain writing tips from this author just like Leigh Botts!

Writing:

4th grade: Thank you to all parents who attended our writing celebration! We hope you enjoyed reading the stories of various authors and have gained a deeper understanding of our writing process. We are moving on to our next unit, which is Opinion writing. We are excited to find topics that we care about and interest us!

5th grade: We have learned a tremendous amount as writers in the last month-ask us about story arcs, stories with heart, how to slow down bits of a story, flashbacks and we’ve even studied secrets of a comma! Informational writing is our next writing unit with more strategies for us to try. Thank you for celebrating our narrative pieces with us and we look forward to the next genre of writing.

Math:

4th grade: This month students will continue with their algebra unit. We started by recognizing and completing patterns, using T-charts and function tables to predict for an unknown variable. Ask your child about their Fences and Gates problems! Next up will be our Menu Math unit where students will create and solve equations, solve for unknown variables, and create an actual restaurant menu to demonstrate their understanding of these skills.

5th grade: Fifth grade mathematicians have been busy this past month dividing whole numbers. While many of us were skilled in long division, together we built our number “sense” as we became practiced making models of division. Students deconstructed the meaning of each component of the division process, understanding when and why we divide and what the various purposes are of our remainders. We concluded with an assessment of Chapter 2 and have now delved into Chapters 3, 4 and 5, “Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying and Dividing Decimals.”

Social Studies:

In Social Studies we learned about how Native Americans traveled from Asia to North and South America and began developing their distinct cultures. These groups settled and thrived in what later became the United States. We are focusing on the cultures of the Native Americans in the regions of the Pacific Northwest, Desert Southwest, Great Plains, and Eastern woodlands. We are taking time to make, by hand, a replica of an artifact from each of these four regions. Students will receive a study guide for our upcoming Social Studies test.

Science:

Our classes have been learning all about water vapor. Students investigated the effect of air temperature on evaporation and observed condensation. We are moving on to learn about the warming and cooling of the earth and how this is connected to wind, the weather and atmospheric pressure. In November and December, we will move on to our Living Systems unit.

Supply List 2017-2018

Each Student will need (Be sure to label all items with name and room #)

➜ 1.5” Avery binder with clear plastic cover, so that the homework assignment sheet is visible. (If your child brings a zipper binder, we will ask them to take it home.)

➜ 3-ring pocket pouch for pens, pencils, etc.

➜ 3 sharp pencils - Please bring them everyday and label ALL pencils with your name.

➜ Your own set of Crayola 12 colored pencils.

➜ Two red correcting pens, a black fine tip felt pen, a highlighter of any bright color, an eraser (no “click-pen style” erasers please)

➜ scissors (small size), glue stick, and a twelve inch ruler to be kept in your binder

➜ 8 dividers for binder - four should be labeled as follows:

• Language arts •Math • Social Studies • Science

➜ Backpack - The Rockhopper teachers highly recommend the students not bring rolling backpacks. We will try to keep the backpacks as light as possible.

Supplies you should have at home:

• working printer with ink • Scotch tape • calculator • pencil sharpener • stapler

Please don’t bring:

• Mechanical Pencils • Pencil boxes • Calendar/organizer (homework chart will be provided)

Classroom Donations needed:

• Kleenex

• GreenWorks Wipes (https://www.greenworkscleaners.com/)

• Liquid hand soap (no hand sanitizer)

• 2in x 2in. post-it notes (stickies)

• Gallon and sandwich size Ziplock bags

• Gluesticks