True, No Spelling

Yes, teachers make mistakes too. There will be no spelling this week because the list sent home is an old list. Students were told on Friday, but just in case someone "forgot", there is no spelling homework or test this week.

We are studying weather in science as well as in art and music. Your child made a cloudy graphic organizer in art and sang a cloudy song in music. We are collecting weather data this week in order to analyze it on Friday. This goes along with the your child's study of data and graphs in math.
Quick reminder-

• median=middle. Once the numbers are numerically arranged from least to greatest, the median will be the number in the middle (like the median in the middle of the highway).
• mode=most. A great way to find the mode is to create a line plot graph (basically a number line with Xs). The interval (number you are counting by) must be one. Each number in the data gets one X. The number that appears the most times is the mode.
• range=difference between high and low. A line plot graph is a great tool to use to find the range, but as long as your child can identify the highest and lowest numbers in a set of data and subtract, the range will be found. Many times adults will give a range as "between 6 and 10" but mathematically the range must actually be subtracted. If the number is between 6 and 10, then the range is actually 4 (10-6=4).

We began reading From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler today. We began writing in our reading response journals as well. Since we will be doing lots of writing with this novel, we will not be writing in our take home journals until we finish the book. Each day your child will be asked to choose a prompt and write a response considering what was read in the day's chapter. We will also be working on test-like items and creating a scrapbook based on the main characters' thoughts and ideas.

Next Wednesday we will begin Marketplace. To date your child has been earning money for his/her classroom job and attendance. He/she has also been paying fines for minor offenses like failure to push in a chair or needing an unscheduled trip to the locker. Due to the enthusiasm of some students and to test our economy, on Wednesday (1/30) we will open the Marketplace. In the Marketplace students who have purchased a business license may set up a school-appropriate business. For example, Lexie may choose to sell bags of stickers and pencils and set her own price if she has purchased her license to sell. If your child has missing work in any area, he/she will NOT be permitted to BUY or SELL. If your child wishes to sell items from home, he/she must have written permission from you to sell that item. Hopefully this will prevent the looting of brothers' and sisters' toys/stuff. NOTE: Real money is not involved. All items will be purchased using Fourth Grade Bucks.

Today's Work:
Reading-chapter 1 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; Reading Response Log
Science-Weather-Lesson 2 worksheet
Social Studies-Extra Credit Weekly Reader