Don't worry...we're still working!

Although this week is filled with a few celebrations, assemblies, plays, and extra activities...we are still working!  Here is a break down of this weeks happenings:

Language Arts

Word Study

This week's words focus on the -ing and -ed suffixes.  Along with the normal word work of defining, identifying synonyms, and using them in sentences, we continue to work on what part of speech each word belongs to (Noun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb).  The final word study quiz of 2015 will be on Thursday.  Here are the words for the week.

Reading

We are continuing with our Nonfiction unit; reading and analyzing text that informs (reference), tells a story of a person's life (autobiography/biography), and tells a story using informational facts (literary nonfiction). Within these passages we are taking notes about the significance of the text features, as well as how the author organizes the writing (text structure).  This week we are focusing on Cause/Effect and Compare/Contract text structures and writing an essay to explain our understanding.

Writing

Our bulletin board will be changed to accommodate our newly-published persuasive essays regarding the topic of children being paid to do chores.  By Friday the extended responses that were previously posted will be sent home for you to see how your child's writing is progressing.

Math

Monday we had a center-based review of Chapter 3 involving similar questions to those that will be on the test.  Please look over all problems and review with your kids Monday night.  The test will be Tuesday, unless I see an issue with the homework/classwork from Monday.  I am attaching a link to all the practice problems for Chapter 3 in case you would like some extra.  These also have the answers!

Science

Last week we weathered some chalk and it was a lot of fun (and a little messy).  Tuesday we will chemically weather some more chalk to compare how pollution can weather rock and soil differently than wind and rain.  It should be interesting!  We will finish off the week with studying natural resources and their importance.

Have a great week!  As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sub Links - For Tuesday, 12/7

These links are for the substitute to use on Tuesday, December 7th (they will be deleted after Tuesday)

• Here is the link to the Bill Nye Video

• Here is the Link to the Math Video

Two weeks left...we can do it!

This week will be a little different than expected due to my absences on Monday and Tuesday.  My absence on Monday was unexpected, so the scheduled Social Studies test and Word Study Test will be postponed to Wednesday.  With this in mind, this gives the students two more days to make sure they are prepared for both assessments.  Here's what else is going on this week:

Language Arts

Reading

This week starts our Nonfiction Unit.  We will be focusing on the reasons we read nonfiction, the characteristics of nonfiction writing, and text features that appear in informational text.  Our independent reading will also include nonfiction books; where the students will be connecting and reflecting what was taught daily with their personally-chosen nonfiction book.

Word Study

Due to my absences, the Word Study test will be postponed until Wednesday.  The words from last week shared an ending ar/or/er spelling pattern.  The test on Wednesday will have a stronger emphasis on spelling than most weeks, so make sure to review these words with your student a little extra in the next few days.  Here are the words from last week for your review.

The kids will get their new words (List 13) on Thursday, and that will be the final list before we go on break.  I will post the words on Wednesday when I get back to school.

Writing

Our persuasive essays were composed and published last week.  Some students still need to complete the typing process; but for the most part, we will be moving on to a new persuasive topic this week. In addition, we will be writing another expository essay (constructed response) based on one of our nonfiction read-alouds next week.

Math

On Monday and Tuesday, the students will be reviewing and practicing the three multiplication methods learned last week (Area Model, Partial Products Method, and the regrouping Method).  I will assign homework on Tuesday with the substitute, so expect some computation and word problems.  We have one more official lesson until the end of Chapter 3, so we will plan to take the end-of-the-chapter test on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.  I'll keep you posted as we get closer.

As for this week, we will be working on Problem Solving with 2-digit multiplication.  A majority of the students have chosen a multiplication method that works for them, so now we will work on transferring that knowledge to real-world problems.  Homework on Wednesday and Thursday may only be a few problems, but they will involve multiple steps that will require some careful reading.

Have a fantastic week!  If you have any questions of concerns, please feel free to let me know.