January 2019 Newsletter

Principal’s Message

Hello Dogwood Family,

Happy New Year! The new year is an opportunity to refocus, refine, and revisit some of our old goals and make plans for new opportunities. I am so blessed to carry the title of Principal of Dogwood Elementary School. I want to start the new calendar year by expressing gratitude to each of you. This year I have spoken to an abundant number of parents about what they need from the school in order to continue to create a positive partnership. It is imperative that we continue to work together to create positive long-lasting academic, social, and emotional relationships with our students. I implore each of you to participate in as many parent engagement activities as possible so that you learn about how we are educating and supporting your child and what you can do to continue the process. Your feedback is valuable, so please make sure that you let me know how I can continue to support your child throughout their time at Dogwood Elementary School.

As always, thank you for your unwavering support!

Respectfully Submitted,

Ms. Johari Toe

Principal

Dogwood Elementary School

Important Dates:Winter Break

Mon. Dec. 24, 2018- Tues. Jan. 1, 2019

5th Grade Ballroom Dancing Mon. Jan. 7, 2019- Fri. Jan. 11, 2019 Time: 10:00am-10:50amParent Learning Workshop- Supporting Students with Differentiated Needs Tues. Jan. 15, 2019 Time: 9:00am-11:00am or 6:00pm-8:00pm School Closed- Observance of MLK Birthday Mon. Jan. 21, 20192nd Quarter Parent Voice Meeting Wed. Jan. 23, 2019 Time: 9:00am-10:00am, 12:00pm-1:00pm, or 6:00pm-7:00pm Early Dismissal- 2nd Quarter Ends Fri. Jan. 25, 2019 All students dismiss at

1st Quarter Honor Roll Recipients – Nov. 2018

November 2018

Principal’s Corner

2018-2019 Parent Events- Save the Date

**Some dates have been revised as of 12/2018**

VIP Days

Tuesday February 12, 2019 Tuesday April 9, 2019

o VIP Days are formal invitations to any important person in a child’s life. Although parents can visit their child’s classroom at any time, VIP Days are especially set aside for our families. VIPs are invited to join in the learning experience, have lunch in the cafeteria, and hang out during recess.

School-wide Events

Math Night Tuesday, February 5, 2019 6:00-7:30PM

o Parents are invited to participate in choice sessions that focus on how to support their child in the areas math fluency, foundational math skills, solving real world problems, math literacy, accelerating student mathematical comprehension, and understanding math assessments (unit test, MAP, and PARCC).

Quarterly Parent Voice Meeting

Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019 Wednesday, Apr.10, 2019 Tuesday, June 4, 2019 Choice Sessions: 9:00am-10:00am, 12:00pm-1:00pm, or 6:00pm-7:00pm

o Location: Recreation Room Quarterly Parent Voice meetings are opportunities for

parents to discuss any topics pertaining to the school that they would like to share with administration. If appropriate, these meetings are also used to share any system-wide initiatives or updates that will impact the Dogwood

community.

Parent Learning Workshops (PLW)

Tuesday January 15, 2019 – Supporting Students with Differentiated Needs o Audience – Existing parents of students who have IEP, 504 Plans, or

Student Support Plans (SSP) Tuesday March 19, 2019 – Reading

o Audience – Parent of all students in grades pre-k – 5th grade. Tuesday April 30, 2019 – Using 3rd Quarter Report Card Data to Plan for

Summer Learning Supporto Audience – Parent of all students in grades 1st – 5th grade.

All PLW Choice Sessions: 9:00am-11:00am or 6:00pm-8:00pm. o Location: Recreation Room

The purpose of the PLW is to provide parents with purposeful information, meaningful activities, and opportunities to engage administration and staff members in discussions about the identified monthly topic.

Dogwood Elementary School

Honor Roll & Skills and Conduct Award Criteria

2018-2019

The criteria listed below has been in place since the 2017-1018 school year. All students who meet the criteria will receive the Honor Roll and/or Skills & Conduct Award in their report card envelopes each quarter. Students will be asked to take pictures with administration on the following school day, but they do not need to bring their certificates back to school for the photo. Unfortunately, we do not have the space to hold an assembly every quarter as our cafeteria is utilized daily from 10:30am-1:45pm. The criteria are listed below. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call, email, or stop by to see me at any time.

Skills & Conduct Award – Grades 1-5

The rubric is located on the back of the report card. Grades 1-3

o Quarter 1 & 3 Students must earn at least 3 out of 4 – 3’s in all core

subjects (ELA, math, social studies, and science) in the Skills & Conduct section of the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly.

o Quarter 2 & 4 Students must earn at least 6 out of 8 – 3’s in all core

subjects and special areas in the Skills & Conduct section of the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly.

Grades 4-5o Quarter 1 & 3

Students must earn at least 3 out of 4- 3’s in all core subjects in the Skills & Conduct section of the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly.

o Quarter 2 & 4 Students must earn at least 6 out of 8- 3’s in all core subjects

and special areas in the Skills & Conduct section of the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly.

Academic Honor Roll – Grades 1-5

Grades 1-3o Quarter 1 & 3

Students must earn the majority of CD’s vs. P’s in each core subject (ELA, math, social studies, and science) area on the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly.

o Quarter 2 & 4 Students must earn the majority of CD’s verses P’s in each

core subject and special areas on the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly.

Grades 4-5o Quarter 1 & 3

Students must earn all A’s and B’s in each core subject area on the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly.

o Quarter 2 & 4 Students must earn all A’s and B’s in each core subject and

special areas on the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly.

Principal’s Award – Grades 1-5

Students must earn academic honor roll each quarter for the entire school year. This award is given out annually.

Perfect Attendance – Grades Pre-K – 5

Students must have perfect attendance from their initial start date at Dogwood ES until the end of the school year. This award is given out annually.

Health Corner— Nurse J. Brown, RN

Making sure students get a flu vaccine could help prevent illness. While flu vaccines are only about 60 percent effective, the good news is that vaccinated people who get the flu usually get a mild form.

Influenza, or “the flu,” is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory tract (nose, throat and lungs) that can cause secondary complications and attack other target organs in the body. The flu is not just a bad cold! Flu symptoms tend to develop quickly (usually 1 to 4 days after a person is exposed to the flu virus) and are usually more severe than the typical sneezing and congestion associated with the common cold.

Flu symptoms can include:

o Fevero Headacheo Extreme tirednesso Dry cougho Sore throato Runny or stuffy noseo Muscle acheso Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are also common symptoms in

children You can also visit the Parent University Health and Wellness page for

additional tips, resources, and videos on healthy behaviors at any age. Dogwood Elementary is a food-free birthday party school. We celebrate

and recognize the children on their special day over the announcements

and in the classroom. If you would like to send in goody bags, be creative with non-food items such as pencils, stickers, erasers, or small notepads. Children just enjoy a surprise.

Counselors Corner– Mrs. D. Bullock and Mr. R. Simmons

January Character Trait – Integrity

“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” Audre Lorde

Dogwood Elementary SchoolJanuary 2019 Newsletter

Prekindergarten

Ms. Ruehr: sruehr@bcps.org

Phonics/Word Work Overview

Letter sounds: Ee (short and long sounds), Gg (hard and soft), Rr and Tt. We have learned the words “my,” “the,” “and,” “a” “in.” The next two words are

“on” and “is.” We are working on recognizing words that begin with the same sound.

ELA Overview

Read alouds will focus communities and community helpers. We will be working on answering questions about details in the text. We will be working on asking and answering questions about read alouds (such as

Who? What? And Where?)

ELA Home/School Connection

Starfall.com Abcya.com Have your child use play doh to form letters or write words in shaving cream, sand, or

rice. Check out these apps we use on the class iPads: Alphatots and Metamorphabet

Math Overview and Helpful Tips

Building sets from 6-10. Counting with 1:1 correspondence(one number for each item counted) Comparing numbers and sets using the terms more, less or fewer, and equal Combining and separating sets Sorting objects by a variety of attributes

Math Home/School Connection

Build sets with 6-10 objects. Make sure your child counts out loud as they move the objects.

Have your child match numbers to sets. Use more, less or fewer, and equal to compare sets. Check out this website: http://www.abcya.com/counting_sorting_comparing.htm

and this app from the class iPad: Tallytots

Science or Social Studies Overview

Communities and Community Workers

How can I help in my community?

Science or Social Studies Home/School Connection

Talk about what are the parts of your community. Who helps me in my community?

Upcoming Content Projects

Upcoming Field Trips

Special Note From the Team:

Please dress your child warmly as it gets colder since we go outside most days. Raising a Reader will be starting in January! Watch your child’s folder for information

about parent orientation and how the program will work.

Dogwood Elementary SchoolJanuary 2019 Newsletter

Kindergarten

Mrs. G. Cumbo, Room 105 – gcumbo@bcps.org Mrs. S. Brunn, Room 107 – sbrunn@bcps.org Mrs. A. Jackson, Room 187 - ajackson9@bcps.org Ms. S. Kelly, Room 108 – skelly2@bcps.org

Phonics/Word Work Overview

Students will use a combination of drawing, dictating, or writing to narrate a single event. Students will sequence story events and provide a personal reaction to the story. Students continue to print many upper and lowercase letters. Use knowledge of letter sounds to blend and decode words. Capitalize the first word in a sentence and use punctuation at the end. Students can copy and write some high frequency words: my, are, not, did, up, with, he, red, and

ten.

ELA Overview

Students listen to and read a variety of literary and informational texts in order to make connections, visualize, and identify the main topic and key details.

Students will identify the character and setting to retell the facts or events of a text. Students are encouraged to describe the relationship between the words and illustration by sharing with the

class and/or creating a class book.

ELA Home/School Connection

Phonics websites to practice reading www.abcya.com www.abcmouse.com www.starfall.com

Please read books daily with your child. Your child can read to you or you may read to them. Ask questions about the different story elements to ensure comprehension. Please continue to practice letter and sight word recognition. Flash cards were sent home with all 65

sight words being taught this year. Please use the word cards as a resource to improve reading fluency.

Math Overview and Helpful Tips

Students are currently learning about measuring, counting, and combining sets. Students are expected to be able to measure the length and/or weight of an object using non-

standard units. Students will record by accurately counting the total number of units. Encourage your child to measure and combine sets of objects around the house.

Math Home/School Connection

www.coolmath.com www.abcya.com www.starfall.com

Science or Social Studies Overview

Students will be engaged in the Kindergarten Weather unit.

Upcoming Content Projects

By the end of the month, the students will begin to prepare for their 100th day of school project. More information is to follow.

Upcoming Field Trips

Kindergarten is looking forward to fun and educational visit from our local library.

Special Note from the Team

Thank you for continuing to reinforce language, literacy and math skills at home. Our goal is to help your child become a proficient student in all content areas!

Dogwood Elementary SchoolJanuary 2019 Newsletter

First Grade

Mrs. L. Caplan, Room 111 – lcaplan@bcps.org Ms. Halperin, Room 101- rhlperin@bcps.orgMs. Haberkorn, Room 112- chaberkorn@bcps.orgMrs. K. Winings, Room 102- kwinings@bcps.org

Phonics/Word Work Overview

Identify long a spelled a_e, long I spelled i_e, long u spelled u_e. High frequency words: away, now, some, today, way, why, green, grow, pretty, should, together,

water, any, from, happy, once, so, upon, ago, boy, girl, how, old, people Grammar- verbs

ELA Overview – Tales overtime Exploring folktales

Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. Identify who is telling the story a various points of view in a text.

ELA Home/School Connection

Phonics websites to practice readingwww.highlightskids.comwww.reading.ecb.orgwww.seussville.com

Math overview We began our addition/subtraction unit in December. We will continue through the month of

January. 01.OA.A.01 - Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations

of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.2

01.OA.B.03 - Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract.3 Examples: If 8 + 3 = 11 is known, then 3 + 8 = 11 is also known. (Commutative property of addition.) To add 2 + 6 + 4, the second two numbers can be added to make a ten, so 2 + 6 + 4 = 2 + 10 = 12. (Associative property of addition.)

01.OA.B.04 - Understand subtraction as an unknown-addend problem. For example, subtract 10 - 8 by finding the number that makes 10 when added to 8

01.OA.C.06 - Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. Use strategies such as counting on; making ten (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14);

decomposing a number leading to a ten (e.g., 13 - 4 = 13 - 3 - 1 = 10 - 1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one knows 12 - 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or known sums (e.g., adding 6 + 7 by creating the known equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13).

01.OA.D.07 - Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving addition and subtraction are true or false. For example, which of the following equations are true and which are false? 6 = 6, 7 = 8 - 1, 5 + 2 = 2 + 5, 4 + 1 = 5 + 2.

01.OA.D.08 - Determine the unknown whole number in an addition or subtraction equation relating three whole numbers. For example, determine the unknown number that makes the equation true in each of the equations 8 + ? = 11, 5 = ? - 3, 6 + 6 =

Vocabulary words for unit 3 Add, addition, between, combination, counting, digits, equal, equation, greater than, less than, minus,

number line, subtraction.

Math Home/School Connection

www.mathblaster.com www. mathgametime .com

Science- We will continue to study Creature Features

Unit- Creature Features How can the behaviors and parts of living things solve human problems?

1-LS1-1. Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.

1-LS1-2 Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive. 1-LS3-1. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.

Academic Vocabulary seed - a small part of a plant that develops into a new planthabitat - the place where a plant or animal livesadaptation - a characteristic of an animal or plant which helps it survive in its habitatroots - the underground part of a plant that holds it in place.stem - the part of the plant that supports the plantleaf - the part of a plant that absorbs sunlightflower - the part of plant that produces seedsfruit - the part of the plant that is often eaten. Many times, it contains new seedsshell - a hard covering that some animals havefur - the hairy coat of some animalsscales - small stiff plates that cover the body of some animalsthorn - sharp points on the stem of some plantsexternal – on the outer surface of an object or living thingcamouflage - a way of hiding to blend in with your environmentmimic - to imitate or act like something else

defense mechanism - feature that an animal or plant uses for protectionbioluminescence - the ability of certain living things to “light up”communication - “talking” between two or more living thingsauditory communication – communication that can be heardvisual communication – communication that can be seen

Upcoming Content Projects

NA

Upcoming Field Trips

N/A

Special Note From the Team:

Happy 2019! Let’s make this a great year. Remember to listen to the news or go to www.BCPS. org to check if schools are open due to bad

weather.

Dogwood Elementary SchoolJanuary 2018 Newsletter

Second Grade

Ms. J. Miller, Room 214 jmiller13@bcps.org Mrs. D. Naden, Room 212 dnaden@bcps.org Mr. J. B. Miller, Room 213 jmiller32@bcps.org Mrs. T. Lewis, Room 211, tlewis3@bcps.org

Phonics/Word Work Overview

Long a - ea, eigh, and ey Long I- igh, ie Long o- o, oa

ELA Overview

Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.

Live and Learn How do the interactions we have with people, places, and things in our world affect us?

ELA Home/School Connection

www.iReady.com www.Starfall.com www.abcya.com

Math Overview and Helpful Tips

How are graphs used Representing data on a picture and bar graph Encourage students to show their work

Math Home/School Connection

Dreambox www.abcya.com (math) www.mathplayground.com

Social Studies Overview

Laws and rules Government leaders Maps

Upcoming Content Projects

There are no upcoming projects

Upcoming Field Trips:

2nd Grade enjoyed a trip to the Aquarium on Dec.

12th. We are in the process of planning our next trip. More information to come.

Special Note from the Team:

Please remember that spelling journals come home on Monday and should be returned on Friday. Spelling tests are on Friday.

If you have not signed up for Class Dojo yet and have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher. This is our best way to communicate!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Dogwood Elementary School January 2019 Newsletter

Third Grade

Mrs. Pickens, Rm. 206 dpatterson4@bcps.org Mrs. McCoy, Rm. 209 jmccoy@bcps.org

Ms. Tate, Rm. 207 Jtate@bcps.org Ms. Wise, Rm. 210 cwise2@bcps.orgMs. Brown, Rm. 208 abrown7@bcps.org Ms. Manns, Rm. 210 amanns2@bcps.org

Phonics/Word Work Overview   Consonant Digraph (ch, th, wh, sh) R controlled vowels (er, ur, ir, or) R controlled vowels (ar, or) R controlled vowels (ar, ir)

http://www.abcya.com/consonant_blends.htm

http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/phonics/games/ch_sh_wh_th_sounds.jsp

http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/phonics/games/er_ir_and_ur_sounds.jsp

https://www.education.com/game/digraphs-demolition/

https://www.education.com/game/digraphs-photoshoot/

http://www.ictgames.com/poopDeckPirates/index.html

https://www.spellzone.com/games/bouncing_anagram/index.cfm?wordlist=8314&speed=2

https://www.quia.com/rr/137179.html

ELA Overview –

Unit 3: Inventions and Innovations ask and answer questions identify the main idea and key details identify cause and effect relationships/sequencing scientific ideas and concepts use text features to aid comprehension compare and contrast two texts

ELA Home/School Connection   Questioning and Summarizing Practice

http://reading.ecb.org/ http://mrnussbaum.com/readingcomp/bufcomp/

Cause and Effect http://www.roomrecess.com/pages/CauseEffect.html https://jr.brainpop.com/readingandwriting/comprehension/causeandeffect/

https://www.quia.com/cb/122529.html?AP_rand=2048170885&playHTML=1 http://www.roomrecess.com/mobile/ReadingRaiders/play.html http://www.roomrecess.com/pages/Sequencing.html

Main Idea and Key Details http://www.roomrecess.com/pages/MainIdea.html https://www.quia.com/ba/111120.html

Compare and Contrast https://www.quia.com/pop/523088.html?AP_rand=131630525 (game) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hFlCU749x0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyYzXlTNt4E

Writing sentences https://www.turtlediary.com/game/sentence-unscramble-third-grade.html

Typing Practice http://www.slimekids.com/games/typing-games/typingfiles/spider.swf http://media.abcya.com/games/jump_key/flash/jump_key.swf http://media3.knowledgeadventure.com/ka/Files/Games/typingmonster/typingmonster.swf

 

Math Overview and Helpful Tips  -  Unit 3 Multiplication and Division Use multiplication to solve division (related facts) Represent division with pictures, repeated subtraction, and number lines Review of multiplication facts 0-10 Solve multiplication and division word problems Identify multiplication patterns on a multiplication table Identify and define multiplication properties

Commutative Property Identity Property Zero Property Associative Property Distributive Property

Calculate area of squares and rectangles Calculate area of irregular shapes

Math Home/School Connection 

***Please use these recourses to help explain math concepts to your child at home.  Using multiplication to solve division (related facts) http://interactivesites.weebly.com/multiplication.html http://www.mathplayground.com/index_multiplication_division.html http://interactivesites.weebly.com/division.html http://www.mathplayground.com/tb_multiplication/thinking_blocks_multiplication_division.html https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic-home/multiply-divide/relate-mult-div/v/examples- relating-multiplication-to-division https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/8460-understand-multiplication-and-division-relationships Solving multiplication and division word problems https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/6542-visualizing-a-division-word-problem https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/6412-solve-word-problems-using-the-idea-of-equal-groups https://www.mathplayground.com/mathhoops_Z1.html Multiplication Properties

https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/8417 https://www.brainpop.com/math/numbersandoperations/distributiveproperty/ https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/528 (last page) Area of Squares and Rectangles https://youtu.be/LSEwtjZk6qk (song/definitions) http://www.pearsonschool.com/live/images2/custom/envisionmath_ca/games/chicken.swf http://mrnussbaum.com/zoo2/ZooDesigner.swf https://youtu.be/mu3HHCdYYtY (area) Area of Irregular Shapes http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/geometry/shapeshoot/AreaShapesShoot.swf https://youtu.be/oL9iF9Se6lc https://youtu.be/JTg8gyQ37pM

Science/Social Studies/Health 

We will continue our Safe Racer Project in Science. We will have our competition in January. Thank you for donating recyclable materials last month!

Upcoming Content Projects     Science: Safe Racer Cars ELA: Invention and Innovation Culminating Event

Upcoming Field Trips   In the process of planning of our next trip!

Special Note From the Team:  

  To access the LearnZillion videos, you may need to create a free account. Learnzillion has tons of math and reading videos, so we highly encourage you to create an account, so you can have access to these resources. Additional games for your child to play will be available on Schoology’s courses. These games will change based on the skills we are working on. If there is a game that is helping your child or enjoyable to your child, please bookmark it. If you would like to return to an activity from previous weeks, you can change the weekly date or look on the calendar to return to that activity.    Ms. Wise will be out for a few weeks in January. Ms. Manns will be her long term substitute during this time. Please make sure to e-mail Ms. Manns if you have any questions or concerns during Ms. Wise’s absence.

Dogwood Elementary SchoolJanuary 2019 Newsletter

Fourth Grade

Mrs. B. Linehan, Room 201 blinehan@bcps.org Mrs. S Wall, Room 202 swall2@bcps.orgMs. C. Sutton - Room 203- csutton@bcps.org Ms. E. Egert- Room 204- eegert@bcps.org Mr. R Hagerich, Room 205 ghagerich@bcps.org

Phonics/Word Work Overview

4th grade students will review & practice their knowledge of controlled vowels er, ir, and ur Silent letters kn, -lk, wr, gn, ps, and rh Soft /c/ and soft /g/ sounds with spelling patterns ce-, -ce, -ge, and -dge Review how endings change to form plurals such as -s, -es, and -ies. Review students’ knowledge of compound words

ELA Overview

This month, 4th grade students will begin their third unit of ELA, “Taking a Stand.” In the first half of unit 3, students will learn about the power of information through the development of an infographic. Students will select a topic related to a social issue. Students will conduct research and develop an infographic to inform others about both sides of the selected topic. In the second half of unit, students will use their own infographic or their peers' infographics to develop an opinion about one of the selected topics. Students will have the opportunity to conduct further research about their selected topic if necessary.

Essential Questions: How do people determine right from wrong? What motivates people to stand up for what is right?

Culminating Project- Students will take a stand in order to express their opinion about a selected topic

and support it with evidence and information from multiple texts. To do so, students will have a choice of expressing their opinion in a blog, podcast or screencast.

ELA Home/School Connection

Practice reading comprehension skills http://www.learningfarm.com/web/practicePassThrough.cfm?TopicID=147

Two detailed webpages with examples of infographics on a variety of topics http://www.hotbutterstudio.com/ http://www.kidsdiscover.com/infographics/

Website providing several web links to potential research topics for students to choose from. https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/unit3researchresources

Math Overview and Helpful Tips

Unit 3- Strategies and Properties of Dividing- In this unit, students will make the connection between multiplication and division as inverse operations. They will assess the reasonableness of answers using estimation strategies. They will use various place value strategies to solve division problems.

Unit 3- Practices and Multiplication Facts: Even during our division unit, our students depend daily on their knowledge of multiplication facts as they work on fluently multiplying larger numbers and solving word problems. We have noticed that some students do not know all of their basic facts. Online multiplication games and Dreambox will help students learn their facts. At home you can make flash cards and post 3 or 4 basic facts each week, and challenge your child to master all their facts. They should start with what they know and build from there. If they do not know 8x7, they can start with a known fact of 8 x 5 (40) and add on the known fact of 8 x 2 (16) for a final product of 56. Allow them to “figure out” unknown facts from known facts. This is a deeper understanding than rote memorization.

Unit 3- Vocabulary o remainder, partial quotients, factor, factor pairs, prime number, multiple, generalize,

composite number

Math Home/School Connection:

Arrays: https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/5215-solve-division-problems-using-arrays

Area Model: https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/3650-12-using-area-models-for-division-fp

Partial Product method of multiplying: https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/3497-using-arrays-and-partial-quotients-to-solve-

division-problems Pearson Lesson videos from Topic Five

Access by students BCPS One log in Go to Digital Content Choose Pearson. Click on Topic 5

Science and Social Studies Overview

Unit 2 Science (Rubbish Rescue): In this unit, students will study energy and its transfer. They will use the Engineering Design Process to solve a littler problem at school. Students will work together in teams to build a device that converts different forms of energy in order to clean up litter in the school yard.

Upcoming Content Projects

ELA-Infographics: During this Unit of ELA students will be choosing a topic on a social issue that they feel passionately about to conduct research on. Students will then use their research to make their own infographic to share with their peers.

Science-Rubbish Rescue: Please be on the look-out for a letter regarding recyclable materials students will need to bring in from home to help build their litter cleaning devices.

Upcoming Field Trips

Aquarium: Permission Slips to the aquarium were sent home before winter break, if you need another copy please let your child’s teacher know immediately.

The cost of the trip is $10 Chaperone spaces are limited

Special Note from the Team:

Continue to check grades as they are updated through BCPSOne.

Continue to read 20+ minutes per night at home and complete your Reading Log.

Dogwood Elementary SchoolJanuary 2018 Newsletter

Fifth Grade

Ms. B. Williams, Room 185 bwilliams11@bcps.org Ms. J. Smith, LC #2 jsmith26@bcps.orgMs. A. Voystock, LC #1 avoystock@bcps.org Ms. A. Handzo, Room 186 ahandzo@bcps.org

Dr. J. Tillery, Room 109 jtillery2@bcps.org

Phonics/Word Work Overview

Plurals in single and multisyllabic words Inflectional Endings in single and multisyllabic words Contractions in single and multisyllabic words

ELA Overview Unit 2A: Revolutionary Perspectives

Research hidden figures of the American Revolution Write speech about hidden figures accomplishments in 5 paragraph essay format

ELA Overview Unit 2B: Historical Fiction

Historical fiction genre study Figurative language Comparing settings and characters Point of view Summarizing Theme

ELA Home/School Connection

How to Write a Book Review – Tips for helping your child with the Unit 3 Culminating Event http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/tips-howtos/help-child-write-

book-30292.html Common Core 5th Grade Writing Tips

http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/fifth-grade-writing/ Tumblebooks (online data base of stories)

Accessed through BCPSOne<Digital Content Reading Literature, Reading for Information, & Writing Skills Overview:

http://www.lbeach.org/Assets/CC_ELA/ParentGuide_ELA_5.pdf Tips for Strengthen your child’s reading comprehension at home:

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/milestones-expectations/fifth-grade- reading-tips-to-smoothen-transition

Math Overview and Helpful Tips Unit 3: Division of whole numbers and decimals

Dividing by powers of ten Estimating Quotients Dividing whole numbers using area model, partial quotients, and standard algorithm

Dividing decimals using area model, partial quotients, and standard algorithm Multi-step word problems with division

Math Home/School Connection

Division Area Models https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/arith-review-multiply-divide/arith-review-div-pv-area/

v/area-models-to-visualize-division-using-place-value Division with Standard Algorithm with Remainders

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic-home/multiply-divide/mult-digit-div-2/v/division-2 Khan Academy (videos to walk through examples):

www.khanacademy.org Practice Games for Multiplication, Division, Decimals, and Fractions

http://www.mathplayground.com

Accessed through BCPSOne-Digital Content-Click the green “P”-Click “Pearson realize”

Dream Box http://www.dreambox.com/ or access through BCPSOne

Science or Social Studies Overview

Where’s the Water? Describe the way Earth’s systems interact Describe the amount of saltwater and freshwater in various reservoirs to explain the distribution of

water on Earth Evaluate ways that communities can use science ideas to protect Earth’s resources and

environment

Science or Social Studies Home/School Connection

Safari Montage: Water Cycle Brain Pop: Water Cycle

Upcoming Content Projects

Culminating Event in ELA Speech Reporting on “Hidden Figure” of the American Revolution

Upcoming Field Trips

No upcoming field trips

Special Note from the Team:

All fifth-grade classrooms are using Class Dojo to monitor positive behavior. Please let your student’s homeroom and math teacher know if you would still like to sign up for class Dojo. We are hoping for 100% participation from all parents.

Please check Schoology regularly for updates on your students’ academic progress.