Hello Parents!
Here is the sign-up genius to sign-up for our Quarter 1 Conferences!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4ca5ac2ba2fa7-quarter
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Classroom Update: Week 8
Greetings Parents!
Our quizzes and test for the week:
In History, we are finishing up our unit on Canada with our exciting totem pole project (due on Friday). This project should be worked on each night throughout the week. If your child will be missing the last days of the week, the project is due before break. We will also be having our Canada test on Wednesday! Your student should be bringing home their red history notebook to study each night. They should be able to recite the provinces and territories. On Thursday, we begin our new unit on important rivers of the world.
In Science, this week we are concluding our classification unit with a test. We will be starting our Ecology unit.We will first discuss what makes an ecosystem. We will then discuss the food chains and food webs of an ecosystem. We will end the week discussing things that can impact the balance of an ecosystem.
Fall break is just around the corner, the entire week is for R&R. This meaning that there will be no homework assigned during that time.
Please let me know if there is anything else that I can help with!
Our quizzes and test for the week:
Monday, September 29:
Unit 1-2 Math Assessment
Tuesday, September 30:
Classification Test
Wednesday, October 1:
Canada Test
Thursday, October 2:
None!
Friday, October 3:
Spalding Spelling Test
Quarter 1 Grammar Test
Here is an update on what will be taking place in our classroom this week:
In Language Arts, we will be finishing The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe on Friday. Our cumulative test on the Friday after break (October 17th). As we finish our current literature selection, please have your child bring Pinocchio to class to keep in their desk. It is also important that your child be keeping their reading logs up to date. This is a major grade in language arts. Students should be reading for 20 minutes each night. In Spalding, we will get 30 new words for our spelling test this Friday. They should be working on 10 words on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, then on Thursday they should be working on all 30 words. We will have our grammar test for the quarter on Friday. Please help your scholars review their grammar packets nightly. Our idiom this week is "don't judge a book by its cover". The poem that we will begin looking at on Friday is "When Earth Becomes An It". Students should begin preparing to memorize poetry. We will start our class recitations in Quarter 2.
In Language Arts, we will be finishing The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe on Friday. Our cumulative test on the Friday after break (October 17th). As we finish our current literature selection, please have your child bring Pinocchio to class to keep in their desk. It is also important that your child be keeping their reading logs up to date. This is a major grade in language arts. Students should be reading for 20 minutes each night. In Spalding, we will get 30 new words for our spelling test this Friday. They should be working on 10 words on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, then on Thursday they should be working on all 30 words. We will have our grammar test for the quarter on Friday. Please help your scholars review their grammar packets nightly. Our idiom this week is "don't judge a book by its cover". The poem that we will begin looking at on Friday is "When Earth Becomes An It". Students should begin preparing to memorize poetry. We will start our class recitations in Quarter 2.
In Math, we are done with Units 1 and 2! Now, we will begin our study of multiplication and division. Please be reviewing basic multiplication facts up through 12 x 12 each night. I would suggest focusing on ten facts a night until they do not have to think about the answer when they see the algorithm.
In History, we are finishing up our unit on Canada with our exciting totem pole project (due on Friday). This project should be worked on each night throughout the week. If your child will be missing the last days of the week, the project is due before break. We will also be having our Canada test on Wednesday! Your student should be bringing home their red history notebook to study each night. They should be able to recite the provinces and territories. On Thursday, we begin our new unit on important rivers of the world.
In Science, this week we are concluding our classification unit with a test. We will be starting our Ecology unit.We will first discuss what makes an ecosystem. We will then discuss the food chains and food webs of an ecosystem. We will end the week discussing things that can impact the balance of an ecosystem.
Fall break is just around the corner, the entire week is for R&R. This meaning that there will be no homework assigned during that time.
Please let me know if there is anything else that I can help with!
Have a wonderful week!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Totem Pole Project: Due this Friday, October 3rd
Hello Parents,
Here is the information that I sent home with your students on Friday. I'm also posting here for quick reference. Please let me know if you have any questions.
This project is due Friday, October 3rd. Students must also return The Story of My Totem Pole on the same day. There must be at least one complete sentence describing what each symbol represents (for example if there are 5 symbols, there must be 5 sentences). This short essay will reflect the majority of the grade for the project. This project will be graded as a test, so its completion is extremely important. In this activity, you will interview your family members about your family's history, find symbols that represent different parts of your family history, and build a totem pole. This totem pole will represent you as an individual as well as your family, be as creative as possible and have fun!
Step 1
Research your family history, and select symbols to represent that history
Read this student handout and make sure you understand what you will be doing from beginning to end.
Talk with your parents, and find out as much as you can about your family history. Ask lots of questions. Take notes on interesting elements of your family history. (For example; the cultures you are a part of and have descended from, the jobs your parents and grandparents have, the things your family enjoys doing as a group, etc.) You should also include notes about things you would like to represent about yourself as an individual. (For example: sports you like to play, books you love to read, etc.)
Decide which symbols you are going to use to represent the different elements of your family history. Think about including totems other than people and animals (for example, a type of food or a national flag). Select four to five symbols. How does each of your symbols represent you and your family?
Step 2
Build a totem pole of your family's history, and share it with the class
Create your own totem pole. You are welcome to use the process below, but you are also welcome to use a different process, be as creative as possible!
Creating your own Totem Pole:
• One cylindrical container for each symbol on your totem pole. You can use
recycled oatmeal canisters, coffee cans, or any other type of container.
• Brown craft paper.
• Scissors.
• A ruler
• A pencil.
• Tempura or acrylic paints.
• Hot glue or craft glue.
Measure and cut your craft paper. Each canister will be covered with a sheet of craft paper. Measure the height and circumference of one of your canisters, then use your ruler to trace the measurements onto a sheet of craft paper. Cut out the measured piece of paper and wrap it around the canister to make sure it fits. Then cut more sheets of the same size, one for each canister you have.
Draw your symbols. Draw one of your symbols on each sheet of craft paper. Use the pencil to create an outline of the animals, people, or other symbols you have chosen to use to represent your story. Keep in mind you'll be painting over the drawings.
Take a look at pictures of authentic totem poles online to get a sense for the style you might want to use. The symbols are usually simple but bold.
Many animals are traditionally pictured in profile. Sometimes only the head of an animal or person is shown, and sometimes the whole body is shown.
Paint the symbols. Now take out your paints and determine what colors you want to use to accent your drawings. Rich, bright hues are traditionally used, although sometimes totem poles don't have paint at all. The colors that are most commonly used are black, white, red, yellow, and bright blue. Let the paint dry completely before going further.
Consider adding some unique touches to your symbols. Adding some gold glitter to a drawing of a frog, for example, could help illustrate the wealth and good fortune the creature symbolizes. You could also choose to add touches that have personal meaning to you.
You could glue on pictures, beads, shells, small stones, feathers, leaves, and other materials that might help you tell your story.
Attach the paintings to the canisters. One at a time, wrap the paintings around individual canisters, and seal the seam where the edges overlap with a line of hot glue or craft glue. Use your fingers to hold the edges in place for a few moments until the glue sets.
Consider covering the lid of the canister that will go at the top of the totem pole with a circle of craft paper, or decorating it in another way. That way it won't look bare against the rest of the totem pole.
Let the totem pole dry. Leave it in a safe place for several hours or overnight before you handle it again.
Here is the information that I sent home with your students on Friday. I'm also posting here for quick reference. Please let me know if you have any questions.
This project is due Friday, October 3rd. Students must also return The Story of My Totem Pole on the same day. There must be at least one complete sentence describing what each symbol represents (for example if there are 5 symbols, there must be 5 sentences). This short essay will reflect the majority of the grade for the project. This project will be graded as a test, so its completion is extremely important. In this activity, you will interview your family members about your family's history, find symbols that represent different parts of your family history, and build a totem pole. This totem pole will represent you as an individual as well as your family, be as creative as possible and have fun!
Step 1
Research your family history, and select symbols to represent that history
Read this student handout and make sure you understand what you will be doing from beginning to end.
Talk with your parents, and find out as much as you can about your family history. Ask lots of questions. Take notes on interesting elements of your family history. (For example; the cultures you are a part of and have descended from, the jobs your parents and grandparents have, the things your family enjoys doing as a group, etc.) You should also include notes about things you would like to represent about yourself as an individual. (For example: sports you like to play, books you love to read, etc.)
Decide which symbols you are going to use to represent the different elements of your family history. Think about including totems other than people and animals (for example, a type of food or a national flag). Select four to five symbols. How does each of your symbols represent you and your family?
Step 2
Build a totem pole of your family's history, and share it with the class
Create your own totem pole. You are welcome to use the process below, but you are also welcome to use a different process, be as creative as possible!
Creating your own Totem Pole:
• One cylindrical container for each symbol on your totem pole. You can use
recycled oatmeal canisters, coffee cans, or any other type of container.
• Brown craft paper.
• Scissors.
• A ruler
• A pencil.
• Tempura or acrylic paints.
• Hot glue or craft glue.
Measure and cut your craft paper. Each canister will be covered with a sheet of craft paper. Measure the height and circumference of one of your canisters, then use your ruler to trace the measurements onto a sheet of craft paper. Cut out the measured piece of paper and wrap it around the canister to make sure it fits. Then cut more sheets of the same size, one for each canister you have.
Draw your symbols. Draw one of your symbols on each sheet of craft paper. Use the pencil to create an outline of the animals, people, or other symbols you have chosen to use to represent your story. Keep in mind you'll be painting over the drawings.
Take a look at pictures of authentic totem poles online to get a sense for the style you might want to use. The symbols are usually simple but bold.
Many animals are traditionally pictured in profile. Sometimes only the head of an animal or person is shown, and sometimes the whole body is shown.
Paint the symbols. Now take out your paints and determine what colors you want to use to accent your drawings. Rich, bright hues are traditionally used, although sometimes totem poles don't have paint at all. The colors that are most commonly used are black, white, red, yellow, and bright blue. Let the paint dry completely before going further.
Consider adding some unique touches to your symbols. Adding some gold glitter to a drawing of a frog, for example, could help illustrate the wealth and good fortune the creature symbolizes. You could also choose to add touches that have personal meaning to you.
You could glue on pictures, beads, shells, small stones, feathers, leaves, and other materials that might help you tell your story.
Attach the paintings to the canisters. One at a time, wrap the paintings around individual canisters, and seal the seam where the edges overlap with a line of hot glue or craft glue. Use your fingers to hold the edges in place for a few moments until the glue sets.
Consider covering the lid of the canister that will go at the top of the totem pole with a circle of craft paper, or decorating it in another way. That way it won't look bare against the rest of the totem pole.
Let the totem pole dry. Leave it in a safe place for several hours or overnight before you handle it again.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Classroom Update: Week 7
Greetings Parents!
Here are our tests and quizzes for the week:
In Language Arts, we are continuing our focus on cursive. We will also have a spelling test at the end of the week. Handwriting is very important, but Rome was not built in a day. There are assignments for Spalding each night. The exercises should be done in the student’s best cursive. Please note that everything should be done in cursive from now on. It is also recommended that you dictate the words to your students for spelling, as the words are beginning to increase in difficulty. As your child writes the words, they should say the sounds they are writing and then add the makings. Our focus in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe will be on Chapters 10-13. Students will also be tested over chapters six through ten on Friday. Please be sure that they are completing the study guide each night. The whole packet is due on Friday. In our grammar discussion, the class has discussed nouns, verbs, pronouns, articles, and adjectives. We have also learned how to diagram simple sentences that contain these. This week we will be learning about adverbs. There will be a cumulative exam on the grammar that we have learned on Friday, October 3rd. The students should be reviewing their phonograms every night. They should also be reading for 20 minutes every night and be tracking this in their reading log. In order, for the reading logs to have full credit there needs to be a parent signature for each day of the week. Our poem this week is "By Myself" written by Eloise Greenfield. Our idiom of the week is "don't cry over spilled milk".
In Science, we are concluding our unit on animal classification this week. We will be reviewing all week in order to prepare for our test on Classification next Tuesday, September 30.
As always, do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns!
Have a lovely week!
Here are our tests and quizzes for the week:
Monday, September 22:
None!
Tuesday, September 23:
Science Quiz
Wednesday, September 24:
None!
Thursday, September 25:
None!
Friday, September 26 (Half-Day):
Spalding Spelling Test
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Chapter 6-10 Quiz
We are entering the final third of the first quarter. These next few weeks will be important weeks for our students in terms of assessing where they are academically. I highly encourage you to make sure that your child is finishing their homework every night. If students fail to practice what they learn in class, it will be very difficult for them to retain and refine these skills. That will lead to poor assessments, and, even worse, great difficulty moving forward as we build on that foundation. Your efforts are vital to the advancement and achievement of your child. Thank you for all that you do.
In Language Arts, we are continuing our focus on cursive. We will also have a spelling test at the end of the week. Handwriting is very important, but Rome was not built in a day. There are assignments for Spalding each night. The exercises should be done in the student’s best cursive. Please note that everything should be done in cursive from now on. It is also recommended that you dictate the words to your students for spelling, as the words are beginning to increase in difficulty. As your child writes the words, they should say the sounds they are writing and then add the makings. Our focus in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe will be on Chapters 10-13. Students will also be tested over chapters six through ten on Friday. Please be sure that they are completing the study guide each night. The whole packet is due on Friday. In our grammar discussion, the class has discussed nouns, verbs, pronouns, articles, and adjectives. We have also learned how to diagram simple sentences that contain these. This week we will be learning about adverbs. There will be a cumulative exam on the grammar that we have learned on Friday, October 3rd. The students should be reviewing their phonograms every night. They should also be reading for 20 minutes every night and be tracking this in their reading log. In order, for the reading logs to have full credit there needs to be a parent signature for each day of the week. Our poem this week is "By Myself" written by Eloise Greenfield. Our idiom of the week is "don't cry over spilled milk".
In Math, our studies have been focused on addition and subtraction where regrouping is necessary. This week we are continuing this content, but in the context of word problems. This has been the most significant challenge for our students this year. For each of these word problems, they should be 1) drawing a bar model, 2) writing the algorithm, 3) checking their work, and 4) writing the answer to the question in a complete sentence with units. We will be having our cumulative Unit 2 test on Monday, September 29. If your child is having trouble in math, I strongly encourage the review of basic addition and subtraction problems. Any type of flash cards or math games to practice these basic facts will aid in their understanding of the concepts in math. I highly suggest www.mathplayground.com as a fun and interactive way for the students to practice their math facts.
In History and Geography, we will begin our unit on Canada as a nation and culture. This will begin to give the students an appreciation and awareness of other heritages, nations, and cultures. We are exploring details of the country by creating political and physical maps, as well as creating new flags for Canada based on the symbols we have learned in class. Please be on the lookout next week for information that will be coming home on a totem pole project we will be doing!
In Science, we are concluding our unit on animal classification this week. We will be reviewing all week in order to prepare for our test on Classification next Tuesday, September 30.
As always, do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns!
Have a lovely week!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Classroom Update: Week 6
Hello Parents!
I hope everyone is doing well!
Here are our tests and quizzes for the week:
In Language Arts, we are continuing our exploration of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Study packets for the Chapter 6-10 Quiz will come home on Friday, September 19. The directions for this assignment are on the packet, but if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Chapter 6-10 Quiz will be on Friday, September 26. We are beginning cursive this week and I'm happy to report that everyone is most excited about this. You will be seeing cursive homework coming home throughout the week, please help your student carefully form cursive letters. We are also working on our writing skills and knowledge of grammar. Part of learning to write involves being able to summarize what students have read. Each night when you fill out their reading log, have them give you a short summary to help the development of this new skill. We are also learning how to diagram sentences. Students should now be able to tell you what a noun is and how to make it plural. They should have their pronouns memorized. Students should be able to identify a verb and an adjective. Our poem for this week is "The Tragic Story" by William Makepeace Thackeray. Our idiom of the week is "cold feet".
In Math, we will be adding and subtracting up to four digit numbers and continuing to check our answers using estimation. We will also continue working on our understanding of word problems. If you find that your child is struggling with their math homework, contact me and also review addition and subtraction facts up to 100 nightly. Please do not do all of these facts every night, but merely choose 10 or 15 to review multiple times and slowly make your way through all of these simple addition facts. There will be a math quiz on Tuesday covering sum and estimation.
In History and Geography, we will conclude our unit on cartography on Monday. There will be a quiz that day to assess the students knowledge of this unit. We will then continue on in our geography lesson by learning about natural landforms. These will include, but are not limited to: oasis, coast, harbor, boundary, isthmus, desert, channel, strait, island, delta, peninsula, and bay.
In Science, our classification study is getting more specific as we take a closer look at reptiles and birds. We will be learning about metabolism, diet, biology of the animal types as well as having an in-depth study of bird feathers. We will be assessing our knowledge so far with a quiz on the classifications of reptiles and fish on Tuesday.
Also, here is an update about traffic:
Have a wonderful week!
I hope everyone is doing well!
Here are our tests and quizzes for the week:
Monday, September 15:
History Quiz
Tuesday, September 16:
Math Quiz
Science Quiz
Wednesday, September 17:
None!
Thursday, September 18:
None!
Friday, September 19:
Spalding Spelling Test
Here is an update on what we will be doing in the classroom this week:
In Math, we will be adding and subtracting up to four digit numbers and continuing to check our answers using estimation. We will also continue working on our understanding of word problems. If you find that your child is struggling with their math homework, contact me and also review addition and subtraction facts up to 100 nightly. Please do not do all of these facts every night, but merely choose 10 or 15 to review multiple times and slowly make your way through all of these simple addition facts. There will be a math quiz on Tuesday covering sum and estimation.
In History and Geography, we will conclude our unit on cartography on Monday. There will be a quiz that day to assess the students knowledge of this unit. We will then continue on in our geography lesson by learning about natural landforms. These will include, but are not limited to: oasis, coast, harbor, boundary, isthmus, desert, channel, strait, island, delta, peninsula, and bay.
In Science, our classification study is getting more specific as we take a closer look at reptiles and birds. We will be learning about metabolism, diet, biology of the animal types as well as having an in-depth study of bird feathers. We will be assessing our knowledge so far with a quiz on the classifications of reptiles and fish on Tuesday.
Also, here is an update about traffic:
Next week, we will change the way students sit in the Multi-Purpose Room awaiting dismissal. Presently, they sit alphabetically. Beginning next week, they will sit in their class section. Students
will expected to sit quietly and work on a small homework assignment or read a book. There will be no open water bottles or eating of food. This will allow for a more orderly dismissal. With this new system, you will receive a new placard for your vehicle. Students will bring this home on Friday. If you have more than one Archway student, your oldest student will bring home the
new placard. Please begin using this placard on Monday, September 15th. If you do not receive a new placard, please e-mail Mr. Posner at jposner@archwayarete.org.
Have a wonderful week!
Please join us on Wednesday, September 17 for Spalding and Singapore Night at 6pm!
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me!
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me!
Monday, September 8, 2014
Classroom Update: Week 5
Hello Parents!
We are halfway done with quarter!
Here are our tests and quizzes for the week:
We are halfway done with quarter!
Here are our tests and quizzes for the week:
Monday, September 8:
None!
Tuesday, September 9:
Math Quiz
Wednesday, September 10:
Science Quiz
Thursday, September 11:
None!
Friday, September 12:
Spalding Spelling Test
In Language Arts, we will be focusing on Chapters 6 and 7 in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. We will be learning new vocabulary and working on comprehension questions as our activities with these chapters. We will be adding ten new words a day to our Spalding notebooks this week, with a spelling test on 30 of these words on Friday. We will also be beginning sentence diagramming and identifying the central theme in a reading. Our idiom of the week is "better late than never" and the poem we will be focusing on is "Tree" by Joyce Kilmer.
In Math, we will be focusing on addition and subtraction, with a focus on bar models and word problems. Please ensure that your child is doing these bar models, as they are required. Simply putting the correct answer is not sufficient. The students need to have the correct bar models, the equation, and the answer to the question in a sentence. The problems will not be counted as correct if they do not have all of these parts. There will be a math quiz on Tuesday on addition and subtraction problems.
In Science, we will be focusing on fish and amphibians. The students have spent the past two weeks discussing and studying animal classification. They should be able to clearly state what it means for animals to be vertebrates, invertebrates, cold-blooded, or warm-blooded. Though we have not discussed the classes of vertebrates in detail, the students should know that the five classes of the Subphylum Vertebrata are mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and birds.
In History, this week we will be working more on our spatial sense through map making and studying maps of Arizona's elevation. As students expand their knowledge of maps, please reference direction and map skills in day-to-day life.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Classroom Update: Week 4
Hello Parents!
I hope that everyone has enjoyed their long and restful Labor Day weekend! It was lovely to see most of you again at our Curriculum Night this past Thursday. If you have any questions about anything below (either in general or child specific), feel free to send me an email or give me a phone call.
Quizzes and Tests This Week:
In Language Arts, we will be continuing our exploration of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. We will be reading Chapter 5 and reviewing for our quiz on Friday. We will be continuing to master our spelling words in our blue Spalding notebooks. The spelling tests will start up again next Friday, September 12. We will also be reviewing our pronouns, so please review these with your child at any chance you get. Our pronouns are:
In Math, we will be working on our understanding of new vocabulary words (sum and difference) by using bar models and base-10 blocks to solve addition and subtraction problems. This introduction and use of bar models will help us when we get to complex word problems in the coming months. This foundation will serve us almost every day in the second semester, so it is imperative that the students understand and are comfortable using these models to solve problems, even in solving the easiest of problems. If you find that your child is having trouble with these problems or with homework, please let me know, so that we can take extra time explaining in class or even set-up times to stay after school for tutoring.
In History and Geography, we will be identifying the differences between physical and political maps. The students will also be able to explain what a region is and show how the United States is divided up into different regions. We will be focusing on these vocabulary words and critical elements: political, physical, boundary, state capitals, landforms, physical features, the Northwest, the West, the Great Plains, the Southwest, the Southeast, the Northeast, the Midwest, and New England.
In Science, the students will be focusing on levels of classification, continuing our focus on animals, vertebrates, and cold-blooded versus warm-blooded. We will be focusing on animal kingdoms, phylum, subphylum, classes, orders, family, genus, and species. We will be asking the students to talk with you about these new topics as homework, so be ready to learn all about these classifications as well!
I have also added a classroom wish list (http://amzn.com/w/6O3FO78C3LCS) to my blog. It is the first website under the heading Important Links, the link is labeled Classroom Wishlist. If you would like to donate something on it to the classroom, we would be very grateful. It will really to your children's experience here at Archway Arete, but, by all means, do not feel pressured or think that it is absolutely imperative that you must donate to the classroom.
I will also be offering tutoring starting the week of September 8th. I will send you an email if I believe that your child should come to tutoring, but if you believe that your child is truly struggling with something, please let me know. One tutoring afternoon will be held on Tuesday after school with a focus on math and science and another tutoring afternoon will be held on Thursday after school with a focus on history ad language arts. It will last for half an hour after school, so you would be able to pick up your children just after 3:15.
Have a great week everybody!
As always, if you have any questions at all, be sure to contact me!
I hope that everyone has enjoyed their long and restful Labor Day weekend! It was lovely to see most of you again at our Curriculum Night this past Thursday. If you have any questions about anything below (either in general or child specific), feel free to send me an email or give me a phone call.
Quizzes and Tests This Week:
Monday, September 1:
No School
Tuesday, September 2:
None
Wednesday, September 3:
None
Thursday, September 4:
None
Friday, September 5:
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe Chapters 1-5 Quiz
In Language Arts, we will be continuing our exploration of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. We will be reading Chapter 5 and reviewing for our quiz on Friday. We will be continuing to master our spelling words in our blue Spalding notebooks. The spelling tests will start up again next Friday, September 12. We will also be reviewing our pronouns, so please review these with your child at any chance you get. Our pronouns are:
I, me, my, mine
You, your, yours
He, she, him, her, it
His, hers, its
We, us, our, ours
They, them, their, theirs
You, your, yours
He, she, him, her, it
His, hers, its
We, us, our, ours
They, them, their, theirs
We will also be reviewing how to correctly form plural nouns from their singular noun, which we have been working on for about a week. The students will also be introduced to poetry memorization and will start to memorize a poem to be recited, as a class, on Friday. In Math, we will be working on our understanding of new vocabulary words (sum and difference) by using bar models and base-10 blocks to solve addition and subtraction problems. This introduction and use of bar models will help us when we get to complex word problems in the coming months. This foundation will serve us almost every day in the second semester, so it is imperative that the students understand and are comfortable using these models to solve problems, even in solving the easiest of problems. If you find that your child is having trouble with these problems or with homework, please let me know, so that we can take extra time explaining in class or even set-up times to stay after school for tutoring.
In History and Geography, we will be identifying the differences between physical and political maps. The students will also be able to explain what a region is and show how the United States is divided up into different regions. We will be focusing on these vocabulary words and critical elements: political, physical, boundary, state capitals, landforms, physical features, the Northwest, the West, the Great Plains, the Southwest, the Southeast, the Northeast, the Midwest, and New England.
In Science, the students will be focusing on levels of classification, continuing our focus on animals, vertebrates, and cold-blooded versus warm-blooded. We will be focusing on animal kingdoms, phylum, subphylum, classes, orders, family, genus, and species. We will be asking the students to talk with you about these new topics as homework, so be ready to learn all about these classifications as well!
I have also added a classroom wish list (http://amzn.com/w/6O3FO78C3LCS) to my blog. It is the first website under the heading Important Links, the link is labeled Classroom Wishlist. If you would like to donate something on it to the classroom, we would be very grateful. It will really to your children's experience here at Archway Arete, but, by all means, do not feel pressured or think that it is absolutely imperative that you must donate to the classroom.
I will also be offering tutoring starting the week of September 8th. I will send you an email if I believe that your child should come to tutoring, but if you believe that your child is truly struggling with something, please let me know. One tutoring afternoon will be held on Tuesday after school with a focus on math and science and another tutoring afternoon will be held on Thursday after school with a focus on history ad language arts. It will last for half an hour after school, so you would be able to pick up your children just after 3:15.
Have a great week everybody!
As always, if you have any questions at all, be sure to contact me!
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