Hope you all had a great break, holiday, and beginning to the new year! I can't believe how fast 2 weeks can go! We're back at things this week with a regular schedule beginning Tuesday. Here is a look at our week ahead:
* William is our MVP this week!
* We will begin a rotating schedule for spelling this week. The kids will be given their spelling list on one day of the week and have activities to complete for the following 4 days of their schedule. This means that their assessment will be on day 5. We will have 5 different spelling groups, all working on different schedules--this may take some time for us to get used to, but we'll get there!
* In grammar we will review verbs and take a closer look at linking verbs.
* In writing we will review strong verbs, connect a character's actions to his/her feelings, and practice revising telling sentences.
* January is a new month for our genre book reports. This month we will work with fantasy books. The kids will receive new planning sheets and reading logs on Tuesday. These will be due by January 31st. This month we will also cover fables and folk tales. We will take time to look at elements of each genre and use picture books to help us identify these elements. The kids will begin to work on strategies that will help them determine the importance of information they read. We will practice using a facts/questions/response organizer with nonfiction text. The kids will work with Time for Kids magazines and picture books.
* Our Native American projects are done and can be viewed at home with your child's googledoc account. Ask your child to log in at home to show you all his/her hard work on the Choose Your Own Adventure project.
* We continue to work on matter in science. This week we will work to heat and cool solids, look at condensation, and experiment with evaporation.
* In math we will take a day to review multiplication of multi-digit numbers. We will begin more practice with problem solving--especially with explaining our thinking using mathematical vocabulary. We will also continue to move on in our current unit. This week we will cover powers of 10, big numbers (billions), and rounding large numbers. I hope everyone has continued practicing their math facts!!!
* Just a reminder that our Invention Convention is next Friday, January 13th! There is STILL time to get in your ideas--we can't wait to see everyone's creativity at the convention.
* Have a great start to your week!
