Siskinites Weekly Post February 17th, 2017

Room 6 Headlines ALL ABOARD! 2017 Auction is on Saturday, March 11th, 2017 at Studio 333 on Caledonia Street in Sausalito. Siskinites will be leading the Assembly after Break 2/27-3/4, and they will be presenting some of the action items through student written and directed skits.

Math 4th graders are calculating the measurement of angles using benchmark polygon pieces and protractors and classifying them by their size into 3 groups: acute, obtuse, or right angles. By constructing angles of different sizes and adding angles together, students are also internalizing the size of commonly used angles. They have also been busy classifying triangles based on the length of their sides and measurement of their angles. When we return from February break, they will dive into a multiplication and division unit where they will also learn the American algorithm. 3rd graders are practicing more multiplication and division concepts using cube patterns, arrays, and multiples of 10. Also over break, third and fourth graders should revisit working on their math facts- fluency of division and multiplication math facts! Third graders should first master multiplication facts through 10's and move onto division if they would like to! Fourth grade should be practicing multiplication and division facts through the 12's. Both xrramath and Khan Academy are good for this sort of practice. If you are not familiar with Khan Academy, follow they steps. Select "math." Select "arithmetic." Select "multiplication and division."

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Select the practice of choice! There are other ways to navigate the site for example you can select math, classes, third or fourth grade. There's no wrong or right ways to practice math facts, but keep your child practicing! Science This week students discussed the " pathways" they created at the Exploratorium. They also modeled play-doh to create artistic squishy circuits. They used play-doh material as a functional “wire” to conduct electricity finding a connection between art, science, and technology. The tactile pleasure of squishing, molding, and sculpting malleable dough unleashed untapped wells of creativity and help young engineers continue to build an understanding of how electrical connections work.

History 4th graders continue their study of history by beginning a new historical fiction novel: Zia. In this sequel to Island of the Blue Dolphins, Zia is the young niece of Karana, the California American Indian woman who was stranded on an island for 18 years. Zia and her younger brother Mando are orphans living in a California missionary. While reading this novel together, the fourth graders will also continue factual research of the mission and Rancho period in California. Third graders continue to study about Sausalito history. Students started to write interview questions based on the life of Matthew Turner as a model for their independent Timecast interviews after Break. Students are interviewing Turner as if he was living today, and answering the questions based on the historical text they are reading in class. Soon, they will write interview questions of their own and conduct an interview about their favorite influential Sausalito character from the past. Writing Holiday Homework! Over break, students will bring home flash drafts of their "expert project" chapters and copy them neatly onto a first draft packet. As they copy their work, they can make changes that add clarity such as punctuation and capitalization. Students can also make changes to their work by using informational writing strategies that add clarity: The introduction should do these things: • Get your reader interested by asking a question or stating an interesting fact. • State one or two big ideas about your topic The writing in each chapter should • Use sensory details to describe your topic. • Write partner sentences by describing, explaining, or giving a reason or example that stretches a fact

to teach more to a reader • Use transition words to show sequence (first, after, then, next, afterward, finally). • Use parallel sentences and parallel drawings to compare two things. • The concluding statement leaves the reader with a big idea about the topic. Students can also work on choosing which text features they will include in each chapter to add visual and textual details that help explain and extend facts that support each subtopic/chapter. Students will have an informational expert book project checklist to help them complete this activity, and a text feature brochure to assist them in choosing text features to add to their expert book. The draft packet should come back to school on Monday the 27th! After break, students will get teacher and peer revision and editing feedback and begin their second drafts. The publishing party event will be an exciting and informative celebration when the books are complete! Reading Third graders continue practicing nonfiction reading strategies as they read informational text about Sausalito's history. Fourth grade is doing the same thing but with text about California's missions and ranchos. Students continue to read narratives that focus on story elements and character development. Third grade is reading primarily fables, while fourth grade is also reading historical fiction. Fourth grade has almost completed Island of the Blue Dolphins and will begin Zia.

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Field trips and special school and classroom events

February Depart/Return Destination Transportation Content

January 9- April

8:25-9:20 Japanese Drumming Sausalito Sister City Project

At School Cherry Blossom Festival Performance In Japan town April 15th

2/27/17 9:00-12:00 SHS class visit At School Third grade students will draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land.

March Depart/Return Destination Transportation Content

3/03/17 Monday

At school At School Trout Egg Delivery

3/6/17 Monday

9:15/12:00 Rafael Theater Bus Environmental Film Festival

3/10/17 Friday

9:30-2:00 Asian Art Museum2

Carpool World culture and language: Heroes and Sheroes Storytelling. Students will listen to Asian tales beneath artwork from Asia. They will recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

3/13/2017 3S1 With Breakstone

8:30-1:40 SHS Historical District Tour

Walking Third grade students will tour Sausalito's historic Downtown and New Town districts and draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land.

3/31/2017 3S2 With Feldman

8:30-1:40 SHS Historical District Tour

Walking Third grade students will tour Sausalito's historic Downtown and New Town districts and draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land.

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Homework Assignments • Assigned on Friday and due one week later! • Have your child choose an online math option at least three times a week!

Mandatory Homework •Please remind your child put their name on their work •Please have your child write in complete sentences including •Responses to Scholastic News activities •Encourage capitalization and end of sentence punctuation! •Have your child read their written work aloud when editing to listen for clarity and content

Family Project: Help your child set aside time for the Holiday Homework: Informational Expert Project

Cursive: letter: mixed practice Rap and Rhyme Word Family of the Week: no list this week

Reading log and discussion questions: Read 30 minutes nightly and choose three discussion questions to answer. Fourth graders: Choose at least two discussion questions to write and record in your “homework” Reading log

Scholastic News: Read and complete response sheet. Extra activities: online access code uz24hn (2016-2017 school year)

Differentiated “Assign Myself” HW: online math at least 3 times a week

Optional Assignments

Spelling: Spelling Beat contest

Math: Prodigy https://prodigygame.com/Play/ XtraMath https://xtramath.org Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/ TERC Investigation https://www.pearsonrealize.com username: student google address Password:third12345 OR fourth12345 Go to class Go to assignments Or Explore!

Reading K-3rd grade:

Bookflix http://auth.grolier.com/login/bookflix/login.php Password: wcacademy Username: wcacademy

Reading 3rd-8th grade:

Trueflix http://trueflix.scholastic.com Password: wcacademy Username: wcacademy

Keyboard skills:

Dance Mat Typing http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr

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Reading Workshop What are students doing and learning?

• Nonfiction Reading Strategies: boxes and bullets • Non-fiction text features • California Weekly (4th grade): Early Explorers • Reading Willows Book Club Meetings: Sign of the Beaver and Chasing Vermeer • Fables: Aesop and modern tales • Character analysis • Theater with Marin Theater Company: 3rd grade

• Zia Novel Study • Nonfiction trade books

• Reading and recording main idea and important supporting details with 5 Fingers!

What are students doing and

learning? • The Art of Informational Writing: flash drafts of expert book chapters • Non-fiction text features • Spelling Beat • Grammar Grid • Five Finger Main Idea and Supporting Details

Writer’s Workshop

Math Workshop What students doing and learning? Third Grade • Similarities and differences of polygons; defining rectangles, squares, rhombuses, and triangles by their attributes • Cube patterns, arrays, and multiples of 10 - Multiplication and division Fourth Grade • Measuring the angles of polygons • Classifying polygons by the size of the angles • Solving for the measurement of unknown angles • Developing language and concepts needed to communicate about spatial relationships, including shape names and attributes •Convert linear measurements from large to small •Perimeter & area of rectangles •Add & subtract angles •Use a protractor to measure & sketch •Measurement word problems conversions area and square units: inches, feet, yards

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Science What are students doing and learning?

• Physical Science • Engineering Process • Squishy Circuits-explore conductors and insulators made of dough…

What are students doing and learning? The Driving Question: What voices from the past deserve to be heard again? •Sausalito and Marin city residents and business people during the 18th and 19th century (3rd) • Explorers and early settlers of California (4th) • Mission and Rancho periods (4th) •Timeline of California and local history that represents major events, influential people, and other important dates from the time of the first Californians, the Native American tribes, through the 21st century.

Social Studies

Farm to the table with Barbara What are students doing and learning?

Too much mud! See you soon…

Life skill tool of the month What are students doing and

learning?

Tolerance Siskintes appreciated the uniqueness of each of their classmates with thoughtful valentines that communicated personal messages.

Valentine’s Day

Chinese New Year Celebration!