5/1-5/5

What a week!  I know many of us have felt, and continue to feel, the impacts of the flooding.  In Parkway, we are very fortunate that our schools were not affected.  Our neighboring districts are not as lucky.  My favorite note from one of our students this week:

Reading
We continue to work through our Mythology unit.  The kids are having a blast!  They have really enjoyed connecting mythological references to contemporary literature today.  We even watched Hercules yesterday, and I was impressed with some of the connections and noticings they had made! This week we...

• thought about the lessons myths teach
• identified character archetypes in mythology, then used those identify archetypes in our modern literature

Please continue to read 30 minutes nightly!  It is important to keep up this stamina throughout the end of the school year and summer!

Additional Note:  Permission slips to watch the Percy Jackson film are coming home today.  This is our current read aloud in class.  The film is rated PG, so I need to get permission to show the film.  Please return these as soon as possible!

Writing
In our Literary Essay unit we...

• revised conclusions
• thought about how to introduce and cite evidence into our pieces
• used goal sheets to reread, reflect, and goal set

Math
In our Patterns and Measurement unit we...

• used formulas to find area and perimeter
• used area and width to find the length of an unknown side
• added and subtracted like and unlike units of measurement (gallons, quarts, pints, etc.)

Please practice math facts nightly!  In addition, students may complete any unfinished work in their Pearson accounts!

Science
Water, water everywhere!  It seems fitting that our current unit of study is water.  This week we...

• investigated which materials and water temperatures would float or sink
• looked at different types of water on Earth
• investigated evaporation in relation to location and surface area
• discussed condensation

Upcoming Dates

• 5/8: Wear yellow class shirts!  The whole school will be taking an aerial shot of students and staff spelling out LEADERS.  Each grade level will be their own color.  Fourth is yellow!
• 5/10: Patterns and Measurement Assessment
• 5/11: First Responder Day
• 5/12: Water Assessment
• 5/12: Math 3 Benchmark
• 5/18: Fishing Day Rescheduled
• Woohoo!  They let us reschedule!  Please consider volunteering.  If you can now volunteer, or if you can no longer, please sign up on this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49aeab2baaf58-may18th