Math: Perimeter and area will be the focus for unit 8. Students will discover real-world applications for both by thinking of tiling or carpeting floors, painting a room, or building a fence around a yard. Students will understand how to use the length x width or base x height formula to find the area of a rectangle or parallelogram, and how to use ½ base x height to find the area of a triangle. At home, these concepts can be practiced by finding the area of walls and floors, as well as the perimeter of wallpaper borders or floorboards. The unit 8 math test will be taken the week of March 19th.
Literacy: When is the last time you’ve read a fairy tale, like Cinderella, or a tall tale, like Paul Bunyan? It has probably been quite a while, but they are stories that stay in our minds because they have been around for so long and there are so many variations of them. We have been reading a lot of traditional literature lately to examine the common and varying elements of the different genres within this literature. Our knowledge of story elements has helped us have great discussions about these books. Ask your child what a tall tale is and how it’s different from a fairy tale. This week we will focus in on legends and myths, and next week we will dive into fables.
We are working to wrap up our fictional stories in writing. Students have been using their knowledge of story elements to weave together a story with a character that has a goal, who has had some conflicts reaching that goal, and who, by the end of the story, has changed in some way. We are also working on paragraphing in fiction, writing to create movies in our readers’ minds, and showing versus telling. Stories are due Monday, March 19th.
Social Studies: Did you know that the first capital in Wisconsin was in the small town of Belmont? Did you know that we were the 38th state to join the United States? Students understand that when a state forms, it has its own government. Ask your students about our mock legislature. Discuss the current bills and campaigns going on in our country and state, and the responsibility of citizens to be informed.
Our next unit will be on immigration to the United States, and more specifically Wisconsin. Students will learn about the effects and influences immigration had on immigrants and on our state. They will discuss push and pull factors, and the hardships many immigrants endured. At home, talk about your family’s immigrant story if you know it. Discuss traditions you may have that came from the countries your family emigrated from.
