Dear Parents and Guardians,

Well tommorrow we will begin taking the ISAT test. I am confident the children will do well, above all I think we all just want them to do their very best. We have been learning all year and many of the concepts will be on the test. As I have mentioned in all my recent blogs, please make sure your child gets a good nights rest and eats a good breakfast. These two things really boost the brain power as you and I know what happens when we are tired or hungry. I have been encouraging the children to work carefully but not to get "stuck" on any one question as they can go back and do any problems they aren't sure of.

As far as writing is concerned, as I have stated previously, it is very important for the children to first preview the prompt for the reading selection they will be writing an extended response for. By doing this they will be aware of things they want to include in their response to help support their explanation. They should remember to use transitition words or phrases such as , "In the text it states," or "In paragraph five  it says .." Based on our detective unit in Lanuage Arts, I have told the children to "think like a detective." In other words, look for things to help "prove" your case. We have practiced doing this a hundred times, a reminder  from you will certainly help.

The expository writing is where the children will be asked to explain or either describe something in detail. As I have mentioned before the key is for the children to write a topic sentence explaining what the topic is, and then to "talk" about these things in supporting paragraphs. The children are expected to add details, examples, and make personal connections to help the reader "see" what they are talking about. The paragraphs should be written in an organized fashion and must be focused, i.e. relate to that paraagraphs topic sentence. An example of an expository writing prompt might be something like what we have written in class: "If you could change the world, name three things you would do," or "Think about something you do well. Explain the steps you must take in doing this activity." As I have repeated many times to the children, Ms. Jack won't be grading your paper so make sure you proofread your writing to make sure it makes sense. Sometimes the children think if they keep repeating a point this makes it seem like they have written more. As I have explained to them, this is not so. It's better to move on to another point. They must also remember to write a conclusion that reminds the reader of what their paper is about. The conclusion should leave the reader with something to think about. I am confident with our support the children will do well.

We have gone over the math concepts that will most likely  be on the test. If we haven't covered a concept yet, I am going over all the concepts in the ISAT practice book. Most of the errors made by our students are due to carelessness. I am asking the children to work carefully and to check their work when they are finished. They are also expected to write extended responses for a few math problems. Here they will be expected to "explain" in writing as well as by drawing a picture  and labeling the problem. I always say to the children, "Pretend I'm a martian, (:). Please help me to understand this problem by drawing a picture, labeling where you can and then writing the steps you took to solve this problem. You must remember to be very clear because remember, I don't really understand your language."

I think the most important thing is to help your child to relax. I have a slogan that says, "Enjoy the Challenge." They seemed to like this! Thank you for all your support.

This week we will be working on the following:

We will be taking the ISAT in the morning from approximately 9:30 a.m - 10:45 a.m. Monday-Friday. I don't have the schedule as of this writing, however I will let you know what time each session will be given by Tuesday.

Our schedule this week will be very flexible. Learning and our curriculum will continue in the afternoon or whenever we are taking the ISAT. There will be a time to "relax." I'd like to do a fun art activity this week.

Social Studies:

We will complete Activity Five in Map Essentials this week. This activity explores the hemispheres. We will also take a quiz on the southern states. I will not be giving any test this week as the ISAT is enough.

Science:

I think we will be able to continue with earth materials this week.

Again, thank you for all your support. If you'd like to send a snack to boost our energy, please feel free. Also, thank you for sending in the $5.00 for the book, <em>Scraps of Time. </em>The children are really enjoying it. We will have a culminating experience when we finish the book. If you have any problem sending in the cost of the book, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Ms. Jack

<em><strong>HAVE                         A                            GREAT                  WEEK!</strong></em>