Mark Newman “Sooper Yooper” Author Visit

Mark Newman was really impressed with our invasive species museum.  I was so proud of all the kids and their projects.  It was great to see their faces light up when Mark took interest in their projects.  I am always thankful that we still have such amazing authors right here in our West Michigan area that care about our local communities.

Parents, remember this week is the Halloween pumpkin carving event on Thursday.  Please make sure all visitors have completed the background check and are bringing safety carving devices.  It’s going to be a great time, and your students may go home after the parade.  We will watch the Charlie Brown episode “Great Pumpkin” with the remaining students.

Concepts to re-enforce with your students

I CAN Explain…

Algebraic Notation Method for multiplication.

What is a persuasive writing?

How are food chains and food webs different?

 Units of Study:

Language Arts:

We are reading “Paddle to the Sea” as we end our studies of ecosystems and get ready to dive in the Midwest Region.

Math:

Unit  2 Multiplication with Whole Numbers ( Quick Quiz 3 this week)

Science:

Organisms in Our Environment (finishing)

A View From Earth (next)

Social Studies:

Geography (finishing)

Midwest Region (next)

Upcoming Important Events:

Halloween Parade  + Pumpkin Carving Oct. 31st

Make sure to get your pumpkin in on the 30th or 31st. 

Picture Re-takes / Edmund Fitzgerald Day

Nov. 8th

Parent Teacher Conferences Nov. 11-12   2-8pm

Braymer’s Biologist Sturgeon T–Shirts

Make sure to get those order forms for our class t-shirts by Oct. 25th!  They look great so far and it will be exciting to have such a nice keep sake from our year together.  We will wear them for special occasions and definitely when we are on camera for our Sturgeon Project. 

Also get those forms in asap for the pumpkin carving coming up on Halloween.  The costume parade is to follow and it’s always a super fun day here at Quincy Elementary.   If you come to the carving and stay for the parade you are welcome to take your student home with you after the parade is over. 

Concepts to re-enforce with your students

I CAN Explain…

Area Model, Short-cut, Expanded Methods for Multiplication.

What is an internal story?

How are food chains and food webs different?

Producers?

Consumers?

Decomposers?

Language Arts:

We will be publishing narratives this coming week and preparing for our study of persuasive writing and text.

Math:

Unit  2 Multiplication with Whole Numbers ( Quick Quiz 1 this week)

Science:

Organisms in Our Environment (finishing)

A View From Earth (next)

Social Studies:

Geography (finishing)

Midwest Region (next)

Upcoming Important Events:

Sooper Yooper Author Visit and Invasive Species Museum Day Oct. 25th

Braymer’s Biologist T-shirt money due Oct. 25th

Halloween Parade  + Pumpkin Carving Oct. 31st

Make sure to get your pumpkin in on the 30th or 31st. 

Supplies to Donate:

Large White Construction Paper

Pumpkins

Michigan Sea Grant visit with Dan O’Keefe

The kids really enjoyed our visit from Dan O’keefe a fisheries biologist with the Michigan Sea Grant last week.  He also gave a little introduction on Lake Sturgeon that the kids will be learning a lot about very soon.

The talk centered on invasive species which I know you all learned a lot about!  The kids hopefully enjoyed the projects and I loved seeing them come in on Friday! 

We will be using them to set up an invasive species museum for our Author Visit this week.  Mark Newman author of the Sooper Yooper series (focuses on invasives in the Great Lakes) will be here to talk with the kids, and they will be sharing their projects in a museum format with him.  Look for a video of the day to show up on our website soon!

Concepts to re-enforce with your students:

What is a food web?

What are Narrative Elements of a story?

What is a sensory detail?

Units of Study:

Language Arts:

We have been focusing on writing with sensory details to help our reader visualize what’s going on in our personal narratives.

Math:

Unit  2 Multiplication with Whole Numbers

Science:

Organisms in Our Environment

Social Studies:

Geography

Starting Midwest region soon!

Supplies to Donate:

MEAP Snacks 25 (easy to handout)

Large White Construction Paper

Upcoming Important Events:

 Sooper Yooper Author Visit and Invasive Species Museum Day

Oct. 25th

MEAP is finished

Oct. 16th (unless Make-up is needed)

Halloween Parade Oct. 31st

Physical Characteristics of Organisms

Hey Parents, this week we have been really working hard to understand how living things survive in their habitat.  The students have been working on their invasive species projects at home, and I can’t wait to see them come in on Oct. 11th! 

Yesterday and today we worked in our wetland habitat here at school to capture some aquatic organisms and started studying what we caught, what physical characteristics each living thing had, and how it helps it to survive out there in our wetland.  We are comparing those organisms to our African Dwarf frogs, snails, and goldfish in our classroom aquarium.  Please ask your student to describe what a physical characteristic is, and what an ecosystem is.  See if they can tell you!

Some vocab words to re-enforce with them are:

Physical Characteristics

Ecosystem

Habitat

Units of Study

  Language Arts:

We have been focusing on writing with sensory details to help our reader visualize what’s going on in our personal narratives.

Math:

Unit  2 Multiplication with Whole Numbers

Science:

Organisms in Our Environment

Social Studies:

Geography

Upcoming Important Events:

MEAP Testing  Begins                    

Oct. 8th        

Invasive Species Projects

Due Oct. 11th

Sooper Yooper Author Visit (4th Grade)

Oct. 16th

Supplies to Donate:

MEAP Snacks (anything easy to handout)

Large White Construction Paper

Mechanical Pencils