Vocabulary: The vocabulary words for this week are: circuit, conduct, current, electrical, insulate, outcome, solar, volt, watt, alternate, decrease, diagram, energy, obstacle, rely. There will be a test on Friday covering these words.
Spelling: We will be working on words with digraphs th, ng and commonly misspelled words. The spelling words are: breathe, depth, ethical, extinguish, fathom, flung, hearth, lightning, mirth, threatening, thriving, throngs, thunder, withered, wrongdoing, chilly, chili, grate, great. The spelling test will be on Friday.
Grammar: Students will be working on using interjections and punctuating items in a series.
Writing: This week we will be working on a research project. Students are required to prepare a poster. On the poster, tell about an invention that uses solar energy. Include a diagram to show home the invention works. This should mostly be completed at home, but we will be discussing the requirements at school. This project is due on Friday, September 12th.
Math: We will be working on our Go Math series. We have started Chapter 3, which covers adding and subtracting decimals. We will complete lessons 3.7-3.10 this week. There will be one page of math homework assigned nightly, except for Fridays. Each Friday, students will also take a multiplication timed test. It is very important for students to be fluid with their multiplication facts. Daily practice of multiplication facts is encouraged.
Social Studies: We will begin a new unit this week on The Civil War. To help us learn about the war, we will be reading the book Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. Students will be assigned a copy of this historical fiction novel and be answer questions about the book.
Summary of Across Five Aprils: Drawn from family records and from stories told by the author's grandfather, this deeply moving novel conveys the bitterness and drama of the Civil War through the lives of an ordinary family. The story is told through the eyes of young Jethro Creighton, who lives with his closely knit family in a farming community in southern Illinois. In April of 1861, Jethro is nine years old, and too young to understand the meaning of war. By the second April, Jethro has watched his older brothers go off to fight-- two for the North, one for the South. His parents are stricken by grief and suffering as the neighbors take revenge. As the seasons change and the years pass, the family closeness dissolves, one brother is killed, and a cousin deserts the Union Army. By April of 1865, the meaning of war has become all too clear to Jethro. Although still a boy, he is forced to leave his boyhood behind. (From The Civil War: Literature Units, Projects, and Activities by Janet Cassidy)
Science: We are studying a unit entitled "Exploring Your Environment". It will show students the links among energy, environment, and energy efficiency. We will be answering the following questions: What is the environment? Where is it? Does the environment change? How? How does using energy affect the environment? How is the environment different now than it use to be?