Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break!
~ This Friday is Founder's Day Chapel. Students should wear chapel uniforms.
~ Our next 5th grade job is chapel vestry (acolytes, offering, readers). Evey student will have a roll. We would love for you to come an watch your child. However, not all students will participate in every chapel, so please check with your child first to make sure he or she is participating that day.
~ Wednesday morning will be another cold one. Lower school children need to wear their uniform layered with warm clothing: warm jackets or coats, gloves, scarves and/or and hats. Boots are permissible for school, but children who are scheduled for PE will need to wear appropriate socks and bring sneakers. (We do not have PE tomorrow.) Girls are asked to wear tights or leggings with their skorts. All children are encouraged to wear a long sleeved shirt under their uniform shirt and/or a Lovett regulation sweater, sweatshirt or fleece, in addition to a jacket and coat.Children in PRIDE will not be assisting tomorrow!
~ I did not send Friday folders home before the break for fear that they would be lost in the shuffle. Therefore they will be particularly full this Friday. Please make sure the look through the folder and sign and return the Unit 5 Math Test.
Reading
This week we will be starting our reading book clubs. This is my favorite reading unit of the year. We will have three different rotations, fantasy, historical fiction, and nonfiction, during which we will be learning the elements of each genre, as well as important skills for discussing books. We are starting our fantasy book clubs. As we go through this unit we will be examining the different elements of the fantasy genre. Some of these elements are; supernatural occurrences, characters with magical powers, things (not human or animal) with magical powers, animals with human characteristics, things with human characteristics, real people in fantastic places, or fantastic creatures or characters in real situations. We will also be discussing the qualities of a productive book club. For example: not speaking when others are speaking, building on the same topic, instead of jumping around, respectfully disagreeing, keeping up with your reading, but not reading ahead of your group, jotting down notes/questions to discuss at the next meeting...
Writing
I was incredibly proud of everyone's work on the nonfiction books. I will be putting them on display in the hall for everyone to see, so, if you're in the building, please stop by and learning something new!
Our next three writing units will mirror our reading book clubs. As we read and study the genre of fantasy, we will write own own fantasy stories. They will encompass the elements of fantasy that I mentioned above. This is a favorite genre for many students, and I'm excited to see where there imaginations take them!
This week for grammar, we will be discussing being verbs and how they effect active and passive voice in our writing.
In word study this week, we will be studying the prefixes re-, in-, ex- and de-. Here is the Quizlet link. http://quizlet.com/_jwb2r
Social Studies
We will be finishing up our study of the Constitutional Convention. We are type of learning that is similar to centers you might typically see in younger grades. We have 5 different centers; convention leaders/the framers, the New Jersey Plan vs the Virginia Plan, The Great Compromise and the 3/5 Compromise, a reader's theater on state's rights, and an inquiry station where students are able to learn more about topics that interest them specifically. The students have been through four out of 5 stations; they will complete the r5th one on Friday. Next week, we will begin our study of the Constitution and the branches of government.
Math
Unit 6 focuses on data and fractions. Students will learn how to match "mystery plots" with data and how to read and use contour maps to display certain types of data. In unit 6, students will also learn how to find common denominators and use them to add and subtract fractions. After unit 6, we will take the mid-year assessment. I will provide more information on that assessment next week.
Homework
- POW
- For writing this week, students are writing about their New Years Resolutions. They should have two resolutions, one for home and one for school. They need to explain why they're choosing each resolution and lay out a plan for accomplishing it. For the second semester, I am upping the minimum writing requirement to one and a half pages.
- Reading comprehension on the creation of cartoons
- To start off the week, reading will be free choice. However, we will be choosing book club books tomorrow or Thursday. After that, their reading will come from the assigned book club pages.