Springing into CRT Celebrations

Dear Parents and Students,

I don't know if spring has decided to come or not with all this crazy weather: sunshine, clouds, and snow. Even though spring may be unsure, I am FOR SURE excited to return to school on Monday, April 11th! I hope you have enjoyed your break with so many field trips and hands on adventures at home. What fun we are going to have as we return to school on Monday!

In the midst of our crazy Utah spring weather, students will have an opportunity to explore concepts of weather. This week our class will be constructing a wind vane and anemometer. These instruments are used to measure wind direction and wind speed. Students will also have the opportunity to use and explore other weather instruments' function in predicting the weather, including barometer, rain gauge, and thermometer. What out your students are going to become the local forecasters with all they learn about weather!

Be sure to look for science homework in which students need to watch and record the daily forecast.

After finishing our geometry unit before going off-track, we will begin our measurement unit on Monday. Students will have the opportunity to explore metric (ie: mm, cm, m, mL, L, g, kg) and customary units (ie: c, pt., qt, gal). Can you think of how many times a day we use measurement? Here are just a few examples: grocery shopping, fueling the car, building, playing sports, taking a drink, measuring growth and so much more. I hope you will encourage your students to continue this and other learning connections at home and in the car.

Our CRT Celebrations will soon on May 2. In an effort to help students build confidence and perform to their best ability, students’ homework will focus on reviewing all that we have learned this year.

Each week students are expected to complete 3 practice tests on the computer at home. To take the tests on line, follow the directions below. If you do not have access to the Internet, please let me know ASAP, and I will get you a paper copy to take at home instead.

The advantages to the computer tests are that students get immediate feedback on their performance. They will know right away what their scores are, if they got the question correct, and if not, what the correct answer is and a possible explanation. Practicing computer testing will also help students prepare for our CRT computer testing. Thank you for your help and support with this! Here are the directions to login.

DIRECTIONS TO LOGIN

1. Log on to: www.myutips.org/~ryates

2. Click TWO of the following tests DUE BY THE END OF THE WEEK: language arts, math, or science.

3. Enter your first and last name, then click on login and start button.

4. Please record your score on the homework cover sheet.

Our curriculum goals for the week include:

Reading: Water & Weather Nonfiction
Spelling/Vocabulary: Long/Short Vowels & Prefixes/Suffixes
Writing: A to Z Utah Bare Book

Math: Measurement Units

Science: Weather
Social Studies: Pioneers

I love learning and growing with your students each day. Thank you for all your support through emails, phone calls, donations, and bright smiles.

Mrs. Yates