Math: We have finished Chapter 8. Students will take the Chapter 8 Test on Monday. On Tuesday, we will begin working on Chapter 10, which will cover converting units of measure. We will do lessons 10.1-10.4 this week. There will be one page of homework assigned nightly in addition to any work not completed during class. Remember there are many resources available on the Think Central Website. Click here to go the the website. For username and password questions, contact Mrs. Brannock at [email protected].
Read Aloud: We are reading the book American Black Folktales, told by Virginia Hamilton. We will also be discussing the genre of folktales.
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: Tuck Everlasting, Apple Island or the Truth About Teachers, and How to Steal a Dog.
Reading: We will be reading the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. Students will be working on vocabulary and reading comprehension. We will also be working with the theme of the book: survival.
Spelling: We will be working to spell grade-appropriate words correctly. Students will receive one practice page each day. This page will be due that day. If students do not complete the work during class, they must finish it for homework and turn it in the next day. Students will take a test on Friday over the week's spelling words. This week we will be working on words with the endings -ed, -ing, -er, and -est. The spelling words are: surrounded, skiing, swimming, loving, studied, traveling, carried, trading, bragged, worried, beginning, exciting, finished, laughed, quickest, weaker, tiniest, lonelier.
Social Studies: We are working on a unit on the American Revolution. This week we will be learning about how codes were used by the colonists during the Revolutionary War. We will also be learning about the role of some famous women during the war. Students will then research one of the heroines of the war and create a resume giving highlights of that person's life. We will also begin watching the movie The Crossing. This is an A&E TV Movie about George Washington's leading the colonist army. It does contain authentically recreated war scenes from that time. Student must have a signed permission slip in order to watch the movie.
Science: We have begun working on a unit on weather. We are tracking the daily weather this week in order to look at patterns. We will next be focusing more specifically on wind.
Writing: We have started a unit in which we are reading picture books to teach the traits of writing. We have read the book The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups. Students will be writing stories describing the "real reasons" for some of the common things kids are told to do by adults. These stories are due on Friday.