Week Four

Last Friday the student took the state location and capital test. Many did very well; we had two high scores of 100%! Some students needed to take more time to study and a retake test was given today. Many of the students did much better and increased their scores!

This week we will begin learning about the 5 Themes of Geography and will soon be starting a large state project. For the state project the students will be responsible for research and a presentation on a state of their choosing. This will be a partner project.

In Language Arts we have begun Literature Circles with the book, Frindle by Andrew Clements. We have also started Words Their Way or spelling. The students will be assessed on their words every Friday so they should be bringing their words home to practice the strategies and techniques we learn in class and study.

U.S. Geography

Hello! This past week we have been working on United States geography, including learning the location of each state and each state's capital. The students will be responsible to know where each state is located (be able to label each state on a U.S. map) and know each state's capital (match the state with its capital). There will be a test on Friday, September 21st.

Next week we will be studying the five regions of the United States and introduce a larger state project.

9/11- Today in History

Today, eleven years ago, the tragic events of 9/11 occurred. In class we discussed what happened, watched live news from the morning the planes crashed into the World Trade buildings, and read a couple news articles from various perspectives about 9/11. The students were very respectful and sensitive while learning and discussing this event in our history.

Friday

It has been a great week of getting to know all the students!

We have begun our daily routine of watching CNN Student News in social studies. We also have begun learning, and for some refreshing, United States geography.

Have a good weekend!

iReady

Happy Thursday! Today we learned how to use a reading and math program on the computer called iReady. The students will have access to this program weekly in language arts and it can also be accessed at home to practice reading and math skills; the students have their user names and passwords in their planners. Student are not required to use iReady at home, though.

www.i-ready.com

Classroom Expectations

Hello! Today each class brainstormed our classroom expectations that everyone will be held accountable for. Everyone did great! Below is what our classroom board looked like after our discussions.

Block A (AM GROUP):


Block B (PM GROUP):

Welcome!

Welcome! This first week of school we will be building our learning community, creating our classroom expectations, and creating goals and declarations for the school year. In language arts we will be refreshing the big 5 reading and writing strategy and in social studies we will begin studying United States geography!

Please continue to check back for updates about what we are studying, assessments, projects, homework, and events!