5B Activities for the Week of December 9th, 2013

Hello Parents and Students:

Here are the reminders for this week:

Our field trip to Sci-Tech will take place this Friday, December 13th.  We will need to leave school as soon as possible, so please arrive by 8:55 if possible.  When all of the bus riders arrive, we will be leaving.  Also, please have your child bring a SACK LUNCH.  We will not be returning to school until after our scheduled lunch time, therefore, hot lunch will not be available.

Here's what's going on in the curricular areas this week:

Word Study/Spelling:  We will continue with suffixes this week in Lesson 13.  The words have been posted to the blog.  The students will need to be able to spell each word, know their meanings, be able to identify the suffix in each word and separate the words into syllables.  The test will be on Friday.

Math Accel:  Last week we discussed variables and learned the difference between an independent variable and a dependent variable.  Students were also introduced to algebraic equations.  This week we will continue our study of algebraic equations and then move onto ratios and equivalent ratios.  Expect an exit slip and/or quiz later in the week.

English Language Arts (ELA):  We are moving along in our current read-aloud book, Wonder.  It is getting very good now.  The students are really enjoying it.  Our theme continues to be Courage and we discussed how Auggie has shown courage throughout his short life.  This week we will discuss one of Nelson Mandela's quotes about courage and create our own courage quotes.  We will also be incorporating social studies into our ELA time by completing our last tic-tac-toe activity which will be due this Friday.  Most of the students have finished about half of their own Courage books which are coming along nicely.

Social Studies:  The last of the tic-tac-toe activities are due this Friday, the 13th.  This week we will be working in inquiry circles as we work our way closer to the Revolutionary War.  We will also be focusing on key vocabulary this week.

Science:  For the next few weeks, science and social studies will overlap.  About mid-week the students will be introduced to atomic structure vocabulary and will be starting their elements research journals.  Some key vocabulary words that we will be working on include element, atom, proton, neutron, electron, compound, mass and molecule.

That's it for now.  Have a great week.  As always, please contact me with any questions.

~Mrs. Bennick