desperate plea....

We really need tissues... we're down to using paper towels and it's not a pleasant experience.  Oh, and we need more hand sanitizer too... 

Thursday, October 6th

Math -- We worked with base-ten blocks and graph paper to multiply and divide decimals.  


Math Mania -- We worked with Divisibility Rules (2,3 & 4) and took a multiplication speed test.


Reading -- Students read silently and received a short tutorial on this week's vocabulary words.  After that, we finished Jake & Minn.


Homework -- Study vocabulary - the quiz will be tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 5th

Reading - Students read silently and returned library books.

Social Studies - Students used their textbooks to find information to complete their Civil War battle organizers.  They also colored a map that showed the Union, Border, and Confederate states in addition to important battle locations.

Math - Mr. Withers taught a lesson about how to divide decimals using base-ten block arrays.  

Homework -- Homework is due tomorrow.  If you have not reviewed and/or signed the paperwork in your child's red communication folder please do so as soon as possible.

Announcements
--We desperately need facial tissues; many of us are quite sniffily.  
--Please return the field trip permission slip.

Tuesday, October 4th

Reading - Students finished up their "Nonfiction Feature Find" activity with Mrs. Bowden.

Science - During Science students reviewed plant parts.  They arranged certain items on paper plates and labeled the parts and their functions.  I brought in spinach to represent leaves (it wasn't in the best condition), carrots to represent roots, grapes to represent fruit, and popcorn colonels to represent seeds.  I forgot the lettuce at home so students drew their own stems and flowers.

Writing - I taught a brief lesson on writing topic sentences.  We discussed the things effective sentences should have (proper spelling/grammar, first letter of the first word capitalized, and focused details).

Math - During Math Mrs. Dennis gave students an introduction to the new iPads.  After the tutorial on how to use them properly students played multiplication math games.

A note about homework.... I attempted to do an impromptu vocabulary check at the end of the day and was slightly dismayed that none of my students knew the words.  Vocabulary should be studied every night.  The words are challenging; however, if a student does at least 10 minutes of vocab work every night they should do well on the vocabulary quiz. 

Monday, October 3rd

Reading -- Students wrote down their weekly vocabulary words (the words are listed in the previous post) and they read silently.


Science - Students reviewed the parts of a plant cell and received an introduction on the parts of a plant.  We concluded science by watching a BrainPop video on how plants grow and students took a short quiz related to the video.


Social Studies -- Students worked in their textbooks to answer questions about the start of the Civil War.


Writing -- Students worked on their weekly reading questions.  I also distributed a worksheet titled "The 100 most commonly misspelled words."  


Math -- Students worked with their 10x10 workmats and in groups with base-ten blocks.  They are learning how to multiply decimals using grids and making connections with the information they learned about fractions and percents last term.


Homework -- Packets and vocabulary worksheets went home today (both are due on Thursday).  Students should work on vocabulary every day this week.  They have sentences to write, words to sort, and they should practice re-writing the words so they can get used to spelling them correctly.  Learning root words is challenging; however, the long-term benefits are invaluable.

This Week's Vocabulary Words

Root Word - scrib, script = write

Describe (v)

Inscription (n)

Manuscript (n)

Postscript (n)

Prescription (n)

Scribble (n) (v)

Scribe (n)

Script (n)

Subscription (n)

Transcribe (v)

Friday, September 30th

Students took vocabulary, science, math, and social studies quizzes today.  We had our weekly library visit and students took their individual pictures outside.  At the end of the day students went to their explorations.