Welcome Back

I hope that you have gotten some rest and enjoyed the winter break!

    This week I will be meeting in small group for novel studies. Based on reading levels and in-class performance , students are reading Bridge to Terebithia and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Some students were given the books before break and assigned the first two chapters. There will be activities that the students will complete and graded on. This will be over the next few weeks.

     Our main reading will be the elements of poetry,prose,and drama. The students are familiar with these types of texts but may not know exact element differences.Please remind them to study the anchor charts nightly. The first quiz will be a cut & paste for all 3 types. I plan to give this quiz on Friday, but it will most likely happen on the following Monday if students need another day of in-class practice.

    We will begin converting improper fractions and adding/subtracting fractions. There will be a test on Wednesday covering what's been taught this quarter: modeling,equivalent,number lines, comparing, and ordering fractions. 

     ELA spiral review continues. This week's focus will be progress verb tense and modal auxiliary verbs. Most students are modeling understanding but some reteaching will benefit all students.

Winter Break is Around the Corner

Time sure is flying!Third quarter progress reports will be coming home on Thursday.

      In math, students will continue to use benchmarks to compare 2 to 3 fractions. As for now, students should understand fractions presented as figures, sets, and standard written form. By the end of the week, students will learn how to find the lowest common denominator (LCD). Please have your child continue to learn their multiplication facts.

      The class continues to develop their opinion essays. Every step has been chunked, meaning each day there was a particular focus. On Monday ,there will be a revising lesson in Office 365 and students will revise just vocabulary. Tuesday the focus will be revising sentence starters and opinion phrases. The deadline for finalization is Thursday.
      Also in ELA, we will spend this week on spiral review. Using the correct progressive verb tense and identifying the prepositional phrase has been the common challenge. Students have been taught strategies, but they must apply them :)

      Figurative language test will be Tuesday. Students should be reviewing all in-class, homework, and quizzes to prepare. Last Friday we shared their free picks from the proverb list. Students were asked to write down any new ones. You may check your child's journal to review with them.

Leukemia Fundraiser

Please support this wonderful cause for just $1 each day

Mon.- PJ 

Tues.- Shades/sunglasses

Weds.- Hat

Thurs.-Crazy Hair

Friday- Gum $2

Opinion Essay

Students are enjoying fractions! We will have a quiz on the basic understanding of fractions as equal parts of a whole and modeling a fraction. Students have also been exposed to equivalent fractions. This week we'll continue with comparing fractions. There maybe a quiz on Friday, so please check your child's agenda. I am trying to chunk the elements of the overall standard for fractions as it is a large unit.

In writing, students have completed their paragraph practice for developing a hook, introduction topic sentence , reasons with a supporting example/detail, and conclusion opinion statement. I have begun to meet individually with students to provide feedback for "glow" and "grow" areas. Our 5 paragraph essay is underway!Students are working on developing their ideas with differentiated graphic organizers. This week we will chunk tasks as we formulate the paragraphs. Beginning Monday Feb. 11th, students will finalize and type their essay.

We continue to learn about figurative language. There will be a quiz on Tuesday covering similes and metaphors. Students have been working in-class on idioms,adages,and proverbs. We will be going more in depth with them this week. Students should be reviewing our daily in-class activities to prepare for quizzes and tests.It's possible there will be a quiz on Friday just on idioms,adages,and proverbs. This too will be multiple choice.

Spelling this week will be on ar,er,and or. A new menu has been developed and dictation will be included on Friday test.During independent reading, students will identify and build vocabulary.