I just made a new Voki. See it here:

Monday, April 16, 2012

April 16 - 20

As I look ahead through the week, I am noticing a fairly "uneventful" week!!
Here's what we have planned:

Reading
We will begin Theme 12, Explorers in Space, today. Our reading strategy focus for this theme is classifying and categorizing information. Small groups will meet this week as we continue to read books and novels at students' individual reading levels.

Continue having your child read at home and mark it on the reading log. The Reading Logs will go home in Monday folders every week, and are expected to be turned in by Tuesday of the following week.

Spelling
The Rigby pattern this week are the prefixes non-, in-, and dis-. All three of these prefixes mean "not".  The Rigby words are insane, distrust, nonprofit, discover, around, disappear, color, dislike, nonfat, indifferent, disorder, nonliving, invisible, independent & dishonor.
The Extension list this week is hyper-, which means "over, beyond, or high."  The extension words are hypersensitive, hyperventilate, hyperglycemia, hyperextend, hypertension, hyperactive, hypercritical, hyperbole, hyperthyroidism, hyperthermia

Writing
We have been writing persuasive paragraphs. The students are also writing poetry to coincide with April being Poetry Month.

Math
We are continuing to learn more about fractions in Topic 10. This week we will be learning how to compare different fractions.

Science
We will be finishing up matter this week and also learn about ecosystems.

Science Fair Project Due Dates for the week:
Friday, April 20-- your child's Topic and Problem Statement are due!!

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Have a super week!!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

April 9 - 13

Hello!

I hope you all enjoyed your Easter with your families! It was such a beautiful weekend....kind of felt like a little tease of summer!

This week we are sending home all the information for the science fair including all of the due dates for it! I am asking that you review the packet with your child and then send the signed sheet by Friday, April 13th. Thank you!

Our last reading program of the year will begin on April 10. It will be our Pawsome Reader program For every 500 minutes read, we will earn a paw. The class with the most paws in each grade level will earn a reward at the end of the program on May 13.

Math -
This week we will finish Topic 9 and will have the test on Thursday. The students will learn how to estimate fractions and will be able to make a table to identify a pattern to solve the problem.

Reading -
We will continue Theme 11, which is our unit on the Solar System. We will be reading and taking notes on different planets. We will also be working on writing a poem to describe a planet.

Spelling -
This week the Rigby list uses the prefix un- which means not. The words are: place, under, unable, unbuckle, uneasy, unwilling, unkind, uncover, unfold, unhappy, untold, unwind, unusual, unequal, and universe.
The challenge list uses the prefix sym-, syn- which means together, same. These words are: symbiosis, symmetry, sympathy, symposium, symptoms, synagogue, syndicate, synonym, synthesis, and synthetic.

Science -
We will continue our study of the states of matter and do more experiments to help describe the different properties of each.I am working on a sign up for volunteers for our Science Week which is April 23rd - April 29th, I will email it out as soon as I have it finished! :)

Writing -
This week we will be drafting persuasive essays and beginning a unit on writing poetry.