WEEK OF FEBRUARY 27TH-MARCH 2ND

IMPORTANT DATES:

FRIDAY MARCH 2.......NO SCHOOL

 MARCH 5th and 6th... CONFERENCES

March 9.........................NO SCHOOL

Daddy/Daughter Dance will be March 17 from 6:30-8:30PM.

AWIM: Victory was ours as one of our teams had their car win the race to see whose balloon-powered car would go the farthest. Victoria, Kaitlyn, Georgia, and Sydnie were the winning team-Congratulations! 


SYMPHONY FIELD TRIP: Thank you to all our parents who joined us on the field trip. The kids really enjoyed the symphony experience and the museum as well. I appreciated the wonderful behavior of the students on the bus and at the places we went. Below are some pictures from the day. 

Math: 
  We continue to review all concepts in our geometry unit and added in measuring missing angle of quadrilaterals. Students have been creating a concept dictionary and quizzing each other using geoboards and white boards.
Reading: 
We began The Fighting Ground an historical fiction novel set in the Revolutionary War period. The students will be choosing an person from history, reading a biography about the person, and completing a short project. They will also create a paper mache' bust of this person in art.
Writing:
  Most students have completed their president biographies. Those who have not know they should finish these at home over the weekend. They can share it with me via their google docs when finished. We also read a non-fiction debate last week and this week the kids wrote a persuasive piece about which is the best pet: a cat or a dog? 

Spelling: 
This week we discussed adding suffixes.
   The lesson 21 list is below for next week's test. The skill will be there/ their/they're homophones.

1. their
2. eye
3. shape
4. through
5. strong
6. soft
7. almost
8. eight
9. length
10. built
11. surface
12. reason
13. its
14. its
15. couldn't
16. possible
17. villages
18. edge
19. your
20. already
21. explained
22. information
23. you're
24. group
25. write
26. right

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 20-FEBRUARY 24

IMPORTANT DATES:

TUESDAY FEB. 28....... SYMPHONY FIELD TRIP AND AWIM 

FRIDAY MARCH 2.......NO SCHOOL

 MARCH 5th and 6th... CONFERENCES

March 9.........................NO SCHOOL

Daddy/Daughter Dance will be March 17 from 6:30-8:30PM.


We had a "Random Talent Day" just for fun where students took a minute or less to show something fun or just silly that they could do.
Math: 
We continued our geometry unit working with polygons and triangles. We reviewed lines, points, planes, types of angles and measuring angles. We've used geoboards to practice the various concepts as well.
Reading: 
We have read some short nonfiction texts this week and will be using an article to write a persuasive paper next week. Hopefully there will be enough time to have a classroom debate before the Friday break! We begin The Fighting Ground Monday since Friday ended up being a snow day!
Writing:
  Students have been working on revising and editing their drafts for their president biographies.
We have been discussing the importance of being sure we understand what we are reading before putting it into the reports as well as giving details about information others might wonder about while reading. We will wrap these up Tuesday- some students may need to finish as homework.
Science:
This week we have discussed and performed experiments about static electricity and how positive and negative charges repel and attract. We are also learning about roller coaster physics. Students designed their own roller coasters online, learning about how rides are designed for fun and safety. Wednesday students will apply what they have learned by designing their own roller coasters that include a lift hill, a loop, and two other hills. Students may bring materials from home if they choose.
Spelling: 
This week we discussed oi/oy. This skill lesson will now be on Monday.
   The lesson 20 list is below for next week's test. The skill is adding  suffixes.

1. speak
2. understand
3. let's
4. woman
5. a lot
6. reach
7. figure
8. several
9. except
10. you're
11. piece
12. often
13. matters
14. case
15. won't
16. business
17. language
18. examples
19. almost
20. single
21. their
22. there
23. straight
24. explain
25. they're

Week of Feb 13-17

MONDAY, FEB 20TH..... PRESIDENT'S DAY> WEAR RED, WHITE, AND BLUE

 TUESDAY, FEB. 21........ AWIM

  TUESDAY FEB. 28....... SYMPHONY FIELD TRIP AND AWIM 

FRIDAY, MARCH 2nd.... NO SCHOOL

Daddy/Daughter Dance will be March 17 from 6:30-8:30PM.



Thursday the kids had a "Colonial Day". We discussed the colonial times and played games and ate food from that time period.


Math: 
We began working in our geometry unit discussing lines, points, planes, types of angles and measuring angles.




Reading: 
We read and discussed Ruby Bridges and then watched the movie. We did a "Tear/Share" activity in order to discuss further. The Fighting Ground set in the Revolutionary War period is the main novel of our genre unit. We began this unit Friday by reading Katie's Trunk that is a short historical fiction book written from the perspective of a Tory. We discussed what a Tory, Rebel, Patriot, and Loyalist were and some information about the cause of the war. They will learn more about this in Social Studies.


Writing:
 Most students wrapped up their research and began drafting their biographies.


Spelling: 
No test this week. The Lesson 19 word test list is on the fusion site and below.

1. first
2. natural
3. hours
4. oil
5. American
6. modern
7. didn't
8. catch
9. though
10. fun
11. instead
12. before
13. became
14. business
15. energy
16. examples
17. began
18. through
19. except
20. never
21. large
22. its
23. suppose
24. though
25. there
26. bright 

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6-10

TUESDAY, FEB. 21........ AWIM 

 FRIDAY, FEB. 10.......... RELEASE TIME 

MONDAY AND TUESDAY FEB. 13 & 14 ... WINTER BREAK-NO SCHOOL 

TUESDAY FEB. 28....... SYMPHONY FIELD TRIP AND AWIM 
 

Daddy/Daughter Dance will be March 17 from 6:30-8:30PM.

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AWIM: The kids have made their balloon-powered cars and have begun their testing. It has been a learning experience for them as they work through making modifications to their car as a group while staying within their roles.

HOPE COLLEGE STUDENT:
Each Monday from 1:30-3:30 we will have a Hope college student observing and assisting us. His name is Mr. Fyfe. He will also teach a couple of lessons later on.


FEBRUARY BOOK PROJECT:
There will not be a book project for February. I encourage them to read at home and enjoy a book!

MATH:
We have learned all of the skills in our second fraction unit and will continue to practice these skills and draw them in order to conceptualize them. We completed the study guide and most students will took this test on Friday. Others will take the test on Wednesday after the break.
 
READING:
Groups completed their novels this week and have been working on projects about them. We will meet to have final discussions and share projects. Next we will read Ruby Bridges and discuss this period in history as well as practice comprehension skills. We will watch the movie at some point as well. The Fighting Ground is our next genre unit and we will begin next week.

WRITING:
Students chose the president they wanted to report on. We looked at example biographies and discussed how to research, write notes, and use a variety of sources. They are to use at least 3 resources, one of which should be a book. Most students have completed their research. Next week we'll discuss writing intros and fleshing out our notes and they will begin drafting.

SPELLING:
Our skill this week has been comparatives and superlatives- Examples:

good, better, best;  short, shorter, shortest;  familiar, more familiar, most familiar
Because of the short week, we will not have a spelling test next week, but will work on adverbs.

Week of Jan 30th-Feb. 3rd

TUESDAY, FEB. 7........ AWIM - a project associated with our Forces and Motion unit and JCI FRIDAY, FEB. 10.......... RELEASE TIME
MONDAY AND TUESDAY FEB. 10 & 11... WINTER BREAK-NO SCHOOL 
TUESDAY FEB. 28....... SYMPHONY FIELD TRIP AND AWIM



HOPE COLLEGE STUDENT:
Each Monday from 1:30-3:30 we will have a Hope college student observing and assisting us. His name is Mr. Fyfe. He will also teach a couple of lessons later on.



FEBRUARY BOOK PROJECT:
Students presented their book projects this week. It is important that they practice presenting to the class as this is something they will be doing quite a lot in middle and high school. I have see an improvement in their comfort level and they are learning to project their voices!
There will not be a book project for February. I encourage them to read at home and enjoy a book!
  MATH:
We have learned all of the skills in our second fraction unit and will continue to practice these skills and draw them in order to conceptualize them. Students routinely fix-up mistakes on daily work and quizzes and discuss those mistakes with me to assist them with concepts they have difficulty with. We will do the study guide next week and take the Ch. 8 test on Thursday.
 
READING:
We continue to work in small groups on their given novel, working on comprehension and reading skills specific to the group. We spend time reading and discussing the novel, working on inferencing, vocabulary, asking questions about text, author purpose, and other skills. We will wrap this up next week and begin our final genre unit, The Fighting Ground.


WRITING:
A couple students are completing typing in their articles. This weekend I will be able to consolidate them into one document and make a flippable newspaper that we will download onto my fusion page for you to view. Next week we will begin lessons about writing biographies and then begin biographies about presidents.

SPELLING:
Our skill this week has been rules for making words plural, a review lesson. As always your child can study the weeks spelling list on the Spelling City site - next week's lesson is 18. I am sending home this week's list with any student who chose to take it. I will send a list home each week and also put it on my blog.
The list is below:


1. does
2. you're
3. whose
4. sleep
5. troubled
6. your
7. choose
8. although
9. it's
10. their
11. ice
12. humans
13. animals
14. beside
15. whether
16. weather
17. either
18. store
19. its
20. iron
21. once
22. largest
23. which
24. change
http://www.spellingcity.com