November 26th, 2012

Sorry to post so late.  Between meetings, food shopping, dinner, and Family Home Evening, this is the earliest I could get to the computer.

This morning we started with "Ask the Professor", after which the 5th Graders completed an SAT 5 word test and 4th Graders worked on Root Words.  FRIDAY IS A TEST ON THE NEW 5 SAT WORDS FOR 5TH GRADERS AND THE ROOT WORD PACKET #2 FOR 4TH GRADERS.  I WILL POST THE WORDS TOMORROW.

Our spelling activity is particularly fun this week.  Students are first sorting, studying, then "signing" the words to each other.  In grammar we reviewed Subject-verb tense again.  Tomorrow we will receive a guide for capitalization and punctuation.  Students will work on capitalization and then punctuation rules.  STUDENTS WILL NEED TO BE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE RULES FOR THE LANGUAGE ARTS TEST ON FRIDAY. 

In expository writing we are working on a simple 3-point paragraph.  Don't worry, these are much easier than the essays!  Our collective topic is favorite foods this week, mine being raw fish, pavlova, and chocolate!  We are writing topic sentences and supporting sentences.  When these are finished, students will write them in their neatest handwriting to post outside the room.  We will then be writing one every week, leading into essay writing.

Johnny Tremain is much more exciting when we read it together.  The vocabulary fits the times well, but is challenging without an adult.  I have been pleasantly surprised at the connections the students are making to the history theme of The Revolutionary War.  One of the best ways to bring history to life is through stories, and this one is a Newbery Award winner.  TONIGHT'S HOMEWORK WAS TO READ JOHNNY TREMAIN TO THE END OF SECTION TWO (PAGE 114).  We will continue reading aloud and discussing the text and vocabulary, relating reading strategies.  It was fun having students take certain character roles today.

In math we received protractors and learned how to measure angles.  This is very difficult for the children.  We will work more on this tomorrow.  We learned acute, 90 degree, and obtuse angles.  Students estimated square angles and were introduced to measuring angles above and below the 90 degree mark.  HOMEWORK IS LESSON 1 WORKSHEET, MEASURING ANGLES.  Also, we started Meridian Math Club today.  Students can earn privileges and rewards by attending Mondays and Wednesdays from 12-12:30 and Tuesday and Thursdays from 11:30-12:00.  During Meridian Math Club I review any concepts that were missed on tests, review lessons of the day, review basic skills.  Please encourage your child to attend.  (Today I chose the students, just to see how it would go.  Tomorrow it will be open club, for all who want to be there.)

For Writer's Workshop, students tried their hand at finishing their RDI's (Rough Draft Illustrations) for their character descriptions.  They learned that the background must fit the description of the character. Students also worked on their other stories in their portfolios.

History's focus was Thomas Paine and his Common Sense pamphlet.  Students worked together to create their own Common Sense pamphlets.  They needed to include the four types of sentences (Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative, and Exclamatory), as well as pictures and personality.

One group was finished quickly enough to begin experimenting with magnets.  They began a list on the board of objects that attract.  Tomorrow morning the other students will add to the list.

Thanks for a great day!