1/26/11

Language Arts:
Today in Language Arts we continued working on our grammar skill for the week(Pronouns), switched for Vocabulary Vine, started a new read a loud, and worked on some crazy writing topics.(They loved this!) This type of writing is great practice to get the kids excited about writing!

Homework:
***Weekly due Friday
***Next week starts the "I Love to Read Challenge". Be looking for reading calendars to come soon.
***We will attend the Pops Concert at Penn High School on Friday. A note was sent home today about it.
***Science Expo presentations will begin next week on January 31.

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Math:
After completing our minute and reviewing computation skills, we jumped right into Unit 8. This chapter should be fairly easy and we should be able to move through it fairly quickly. The entire Unit deals with fractions.

Homework:
***Journal page 251 and 252

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Social Studies:
Today we continued our crop duster tour through the Midwest region. The best part of all was when we ended up In Minnesota and learned about the Mall of America. We even worked in groups to create our own mall. I must say, they certainly put some serious thought into the kinds of stores that could serve all types of people.
It looks as though our test will be towards the end of next week. Study guides will be passed out tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

1/25/11

Language Arts:
Today was our 100th day of school! Because of this important day, we spent some time working on a writing marathon which was titled, "If I had a 100----------, I would__________". It was amazing to see how creative some of the ideas were and how much they were able to write in such a short amount of time.

We also spent some time working on our grammar skill for the week and reviewing our story vocabulary. Then we were off to Vocabulary Vine.

Homework:
***Weekly due Friday
***Science Expo presentations will begin on January 28th in all Language Arts classes. Be ready to explain your experiment and procedures. You will be graded on the listening and speaking standards.

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Math:
After a bit of a review, we started our Unit 7 test.

Homework:
***None

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Social Studies:(Doms)
Today we continued our journey of the Midwest region. We started off in South Dakota and learned about Mount Rushmore, and The Crazy Horse Memorial. Next, we traveled to Michigan where we learned about the Soo Locks and about the automobile assembly lines of Detroit, Michigan. We even had a chance to create an assembly line of our own. This created quite a stir of conversation about the advantages and disadvantages of working on an assembly line.

Homework:
***None

Until tomorrow...

1/24/11

Language Arts:
Today was a short day due to double specials. We did have time to take our weekly spelling pretest, review our new story vocabulary and listen to our story on tape before heading off to Vocabualry Vine. This week our story is short and only has 4 vocabulary words. Be sure to discuss their meanings when you read the story together this week.

Homework:
***Weekly homework packet due Friday
***Science Expo is due on January 31. You may bring it in sooner if you are ready. Our presentations will start on the 31st. Everyone should be ready to present that day!

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Math:
Today in math we completed our minute, worked on computation on white boards, and then worked on a study guide for the test which will be tomorrow. Please review the study guide that covers the skills from Unit 7.

Homework:
***Unit 7 test tomorrow(See the study guide)

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Social Studies:(Suddarth)
Today we continued our crop dusting tour of the Midwest Region. Today we visited South Dakota and Detroit, Michigan. While in Michigan, we learned about the automotive industry and participated in our own assembly plant. We definitely learned about the advantages and disadvantages of being on an assembly line. It was stressful!

Reminders:
***Science Expo is due on Jan. 31. All students will present in their Language Arts classes.

Until tomorrow...

1/20/11

Language Arts:
Right after specials today, we practiced the correct usage or pronouns, completed our grammar minute which dealt with placing commas in sentences, reviewed our RIT vocabulary, worked on a quick writing prompt, met with our reading buddies, and switched for Vocabulary Vine. We completed all of this before 11:00! Whew!

Homework:
***Please check your email for a letter from Northpoint regarding a family homework project that each family will participate in for the upcoming "I Love to Read Challenge."
***We will have our usual assessments tomorrow.

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Math:
Today was our day to spend in the computer lab working on Odyssey. We also fit in some time to review skills and practice solving problems more complex order of operations problems that involved squaring decimals and fractions as well as squaring an expression in parentheses.

Homework:
***Math boxes 7.10 and 7.11
***We are going to be having a test early next week over Unit 7. A practice test and or study guide will be coming home on Monday.

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Social Studies:(Suddarth)
Today we started our tour of the Midwest Region in a crop duster plane. We started our journey in Missouri, traveled to Iowa, and then we were off to Kansas. Along the way we learned not only about the geography of the region but the economy and history as well. We ended our day learning about the cowboys that roamed about Kansas and sang the song "Home on the Range". What an exciting adventure!

The remainder of our class time was spent finishing up a previous Art Smart lesson. Thank you to Mrs. Grocock, Mrs. Sohrab, and Mrs. Coughlin for their help!

Until tomorrow...

1/18/11

We were all back and ready to go after a long weekend!

Language Arts:
Today in Language Arts we took our spelling pretest and reviewed their specific spelling patterns. The words this week are a bit tricky so be sure to study a little extra.

We also took the time to review our new vocabulary words that go along with our story and listened to it on tape. The words this week are as follows: faint, disguised, crisscrossed, jealousy, fade, wisdom, and cautiously. Please be sure to review these words with your child as you read the story together during the week. They will be tested on Friday.This week our story is a realistic fiction and the comprehension skill is once again drawing conclusions. It is a good idea to stop while you are reading the story together and ask questions along the way. This helps comprehension!

Our grammar skill for the week is subject and object pronouns. We worked on this skill on the overhead, in our grammar workbook, and practiced on white boards.

Before switching for Vocabulary Vine /Triumphs, we spent some time working on our character sketch writing that we started on Friday. This is homework if it was not completed in class.

Homework:
***Character sketch writing is due tomorrow
***Due to the short week, we will not have a weekly homework packet. We will, however, have all of our assessments on Friday.

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Math:
Today we worked on computation with a little extra effort and practice placed on algebra and solving for a variable. Our lesson of the day dealt with adding positive numbers by using counters. This was quite a step back for the students. What a confidence booster!

Homework:
***Math journal page 234 and 236

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Social Studies:(Suddarth)
Today our class started Chapter 8. During this chapter we will be taking a crop duster tour of the Midwest Region. Today we reviewed the vocabulary, completed the Chapter 8 preview in our ISNB, and worked with a partner to answer specific questions about the geography of the Midwest.

Homework:
***None

Reminders:
***Tonight is Chick-Fil-A day! Please join us to support our school.
***Tomorrow is Animal Day! Don't forget to bring your animal gear and your $. All proceeds will go to the Humane Society.

Until tomorrow...

1/13/11

Language Arts:
Today in Language Arts we wrapped up some loose ends by reviewing antecedents and their pronouns as well as the particular spelling patterns of our spelling words for the week. We also worked on writing with our reading buddies and switched for Vocabulary Vine.

Homework
*** Weekly homework packet is due tomorrow(Don't forget parent signatures)
***Book orders are due on Wednesday, January 19
***Don't forget to wear your National Blue Ribbon shirt tomorrow!

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Math:
Today was our Odyssey day in the computer lab. It sure has been awhile since we've had the chance to work on that! After that, we worked on computation review and graded our homework. There was no formal lesson taught today.

Homework:
***None

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Social Studies:
Today Mrs. Dom's class took their Chapter 7 test.

Homework:
***None

Until tomorrow...

1/12/11

Language Arts:
This morning we continued working on antecedents and pronouns. The students are getting much better at this skill. We also spent some time working on drawing conclusions, reviewing our RIT vocabulary, and completing a cursive handwriting contest sheet. We also switched for Vocabulary Vine.

Homework:
***Book orders are due on Wednesday, January 19
***Weekly homework packet is due on Friday
***Make sure you reread the story, practice your spelling, and review the new RIT words of the week. Assessments will be given on Friday.(Remember to get parent initials for each nights' reading minutes and on the top of the packet.)

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Math:
Today we completed our minute, graded our homework, worked on computation and then jumped into the lesson of the day which dealt with negative numbers. We also spent some time working on problem solving strategies. This was difficult at first, but I think the students soon realized that by drawing out what you know, the problems can become much easier to solve.

Homework:
***Journal pages 229-231

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Social Studies:
***My homeroom had their Chapter 7 test today. Mrs. Dom's class will have their test tomorrow.


Until tomorrow...