English Language Arts, Reading and History We actually have quite a bit to accomplish this week. First, we are completing our final copies for our pen pals to Meginim School in Israel which will be mailed over vacation. Students are permitted to attach a small personal and fun item to the letters they are working on here at school. These could be photos, stickers, erasers, cards, drawings, coins and friendship bracelets. We are sending a letter writing video this week. Second, we have the final date for the Nile River project on Wednesday. I made sure that students realized that this was a good example of breaking down a major project into smaller parts each week. No one should be running off for emergency craft supplies and staying up late on Tuesday for finish. And by doing a bit every week, students can get feedback and ask questions so that their best work will be ariving on Wednesday. All items should be here at school to put onto the map for the photo presentation. Hope it works! Third, we are working on short plays telling the story of some famous Egyptians. The plays contain facts from a reference booklet and review the elements of a story like antagonist, protagonist, rising action, setting, etc. The plays are group projects but the important grade will come from the planning guide, "Famous Egyptians and their Stories". This has been done in class. Any student missing significant classtime for illness or early vacation can work on their stories individually. Math In math this week we are working on a group project. As we have recently finished up multiplication and division with fractions, this project provides students with real world application of these skills. Each students was required to bring in a recipe with 5-10 ingredients, at least half of which were fractions of mixed numbers. Together in groups of 3, students are converting the original recipes to serve different numbers of people. One recipe will be cut in half, one recipe will be cut to serve one single person, and one recipe will be converted to serve 24. Students will have the option of drawing pictures to accompany their projects, and will do a brief presentation on their recipes later in the week. After vacation, we will move on to chapter 5, which focuses on positive and negative integers, and graphing on number lines and planes. Science On Wednesday students will have a science test! This test is on the introduction chapter to cells, titled "What are Cells?" This chapter has focused mainly on cell theory, the differences between multicellular and unicellular organisms, and prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes. Students will receive a study guide to prepare, and should also study their term 2 binder materials, numbered 1-10, in their science section. A copy of the study guide can be found here. English Language Arts, Reading and History Writing: We have finished the rough draft of our 5 paragraphs of persuasive writing. Revisions and editing may be done by the end of the week, but definitely by vacation. We are also composing our pen pal letters to the 5th and 6th graders of Meginim School in Haifa, Israel. The letters we received had Bazooka Joe bubble gum included. My suggestion is that I will buy and attach Jolly Ranchers to our return letters so no need to buy that box of Ferrero Rocher your child may be trying to convince you to buy. I'm also encouraging a single coin, sticker, charm, or photo if an additional token is desired. Reading We are learning about story vocabulary and preparing stories about famous Egyptians. Students will write the antagonist, protagonist, setting and complications of these important stories of histories. The storiesf will turn into short plays used to instruct the class. All of this project will be done in class. History We are on the last Phase of the Nile River map with representations of historic sites due on Friday. All the elements of the project are finalized next Wednesday. Think of it this way: I assigned a big project about the Nile River. I have asked the students to have work done each week allowing me to provide feedback and suggestions. When the items come in next Wednesday and get assembled on the map they have done in class, they will be fabulous. An excellent lesson in doing a little every week with time to ask the teacher clarifying questions! You're welcome! Math This week we are wrapping up chapter 4! We are starting the week learning to divide fractions by fractions and mixed numbers. We will review 1 or 2 days mid week (weather depending) and are aiming to take our test on Friday. The practice test is available at connected.mcgraw-hill.com through Monday. Completing this practice test and bringing some type of proof (screen shot, note from home, printed page) will earn students 5 bonus points on their test on Friday. Science We are continuing to learn about cells this week in science. Last week we enjoyed learning about unicellular and multicellular organisms, and even got to look at a few through the microscopes. That was a big hit! This week we are learning about the three tenets of Cell Theory, prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and taking a short vocabulary quiz on Wednesday. Students have flashcards to study for this quiz. Math
This week in math we will continue to work on computing with fractions. We were very successful with multiplication last week, which we will continue working on for a bit this week. On Wednesday, students will take the mid-chapter quiz, which will focus on estimating and multiplying fractions by whole numbers, fractions, and mixed numbers. Problem solving and an introduction to dividing with fractions will follow. Last week we did a binder check. Students should keep all math materials that are currently in their binder for the duration of the year. Science As it is the start of trimester 2, we are shifting our focus from Earth and Space science to Life Science! Over the next few weeks we will begin to learn about cells. First we'll learn about differences between living and non-living things, as well as unicellular and multi-cellular organisms. Students will even get to check out some samples under the microscopes! Later this week we'll read a bit about Cell Theory, and begin thinking about what cells do and why they are so important. Last week we did a binder check. As report cards will be going home on Friday, I would like students to keep their science materials in their binder until at least Monday, December 11th. This way, parents can look through the binder at major grades in case there are any questions or concerns regarding the report card. After December 11th, students are free to remove trimester 1 science materials from their binders and keep them at home. English Language Arts, Reading and History Our notebook check was very successful last week. This week we'll go over what has to be removed from the binder on December 11, because some items will remain in the notebook as reference through out the year. We have a writing week, preparing a 5 paragraph persuasive writing essay in class. My goal is to finish the rough draft before Christmas. Our pen pals from Israel have arrived. Each student received a letter from a English learner from the Meginim School in Kiriyat Haim, Israel near Haifa. My college roommate teaches English in Israel and we've made it a tradition for CHCS students to enjoy some international flavor and her students to practice English. At this point, the entire letter process will be guided by the 2 of us and students will not be communicating by social media or using last names at all. At the end of the year, with your permission, students can exchange names and social media venues. We will be writing our letter back to them over the next couple of weeks. Raging Rhinos can plan on attaching as much as 2 small trinkets/cand to attach to their letter, which we will discuss as the letter gets written. in the meantime, we are preparing a short video to send to them as a Hanukkah greeting as they sent a Happy Thanksgiving message to us! We continue with The Lightning Thief and Massachusetts Book Award books. |