Fourth Quarter Newletter

MYSTERY FESTIVAL TO BEGIN…

Reading:

Our focus this final quarter in reading will be spent on fiction and mystery. We will begin practicing our reading strategies by looking at various short stories and excerpts in preparation for the AIMS test. Reading strategies include vocabulary development, inference in text, main idea and character development, along with setting and plot development. Next, students will complete another small group book club that will focus on adventure and survival. Then, we will finish out the quarter with a whole class book study by reading a classic “who done it” entitled The Westing Game. This book is full of plot twists, red herrings, and encourages lots discussion.

Finally, students will have the opportunity to utilize their reading skills during the year-end MAP test. The AIMS and MAP tests are important for reading/language placement next year.

Math:

We begin the quarter with a focus on Coordinates, Area, Volume and Capacity. Students will complete a unit on Algebra Concepts and Skills that fits in nicely with Hands-on-Equations, which they worked on third quarter..

Unit 11 moves us back into volume by adding cylinders, cones, and pyramids. Students will also use the displacement method to find the volume of an irregular 3-D object. Next we will move into Probability, Ratios, and Rates in Unit 12. Finally, we will study a discrete math, which includes multiplication principles, vertex edge graphs and Euler’s circuits.

As with reading, students will have the opportunity to utilize their math and problem-solving skills during the AIMS test, MAP test and Orleans Hanna Algebra Placement test. These tests will be important for math placement next year.

Science:

Science is full of mystery this quarter, from the vast to the minute. We will focus on physical science and crime lab chemistry.. Students will begin the quarter analyzing powders and crystals. We will look at their unique properties and see how they react and interact with various liquids and heat. Students will begin to learn the differences between mixtures, compounds, and solutions. They will also learn to identify physical vs.chemical changes in substances.

Our final science adventure will be a culminating mystery festival in which students will use all of their science knowledge to solve a simulated murder mystery. We will take it from the crime scene to the courtroom. It will be interesting to see “who done it!”

One final note:

I have really enjoyed your children this year, and look forward to a wonderful fourth quarter. They have grown so much and become such responsible citizens. I have expected a lot from them, and they have risen to the challenge. For that I am very pleased and proud of their perseverance. I will miss them very much next year.

If you have any questions please blog here or email me.

Suzi Cook

scook@amphi.com