Math: We are going to be working on some objectives that are not covered in our Go Math program, but will be on the AIMS test. This week we will be working on locating integers on a number line, using ratios and unit rates to model, describe and extend problems in context. There will be one page of homework assigned nightly in addition to any work not completed during class.
Language Arts Centers: Students are now working on literacy centers. Students will work in these centers in their reading groups. They cover a variety of language arts skills. This week we will be working on the following: fact and opinion, prefixes, and suffixes. Students will be expected to turn in their work for each center and they will be graded.
Reading groups: Reading groups have been revised. We will be working on a variety of reading and literacy skills. Students will be expected to complete assignments related to the books we are reading, as well as to take Accelerated Reader quizzes on the books we read. We are currently reading the following books: Misery Guts, Stone Fox, The Case of the Million-Dollar Mystery, and Elaine and the Flying Frog.
Reading homework: There will be one page of reading homework assigned nightly. This week we will be focusing on hierarchical webs and classifying.
Reading Skill Practice: We will be working a variety of reading skills. Students will read a short passage and then answer questions about the passage. We will be taking periodic comprehension tests on the reading passages. I will also be testing students on reading fluency. This week we will be focusing on determining the main idea of a text, explaining how a series of events fits together in the story, and comprehending literature.
Spelling and Grammar: We will be working to spell grade-appropriate words correctly. Students will complete a packet practicing the week's spelling and grammar skills in class. They may take it home to study as well. Students will take a test on Friday over the week's spelling words as well as the grammar skill. This week we will be working on prefixes dis-, mis-, and un-, and prepositions. The spelling words are: rough, enough, fragile, few, physical, misbehave, unimportant, unable, disappoint, unable, disappoint, stuffed, disagree, misunderstand.
Social Studies: We have started a unit on the American Revolution. We will be studying the poet Phillis Wheatley and reading her works as an example of a primary source. We will then be looking at the poem "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Students will be researching the actual events of Paul Revere's ride and looking for the inaccuracies in the poem. Students will then be asked to write their own more accurate poem about what happened that night.
Science: We will begin a new unit on insects. Students will be studying the anatomy of insects as well as doing inquiry investigations on insects. Students must have a signed permission slip to work with the insects.
Writing and Grammar: Each day students will complete a writing warm-up which will cover many writing and grammar skills. This week, our focus will be on writing routinely over extended time frames for specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. Students will also write a quickwrite each day on a given prompt. Students should be writing at least a paragraph each day. On Thursday, we will be taking a Quiz on the current set of writing skills. They will also revise and edit one of their quickwrites to be graded. Writing warm-ups 64-72 will be collected at this time.