Friday, September 27, 2013

September 23rd - September 27th

Upcoming Events
  
Friday, October 4th ~ Buddy Run at 9:00 am, Science Test

Tuesday, October 8th ~ Sentences Test in Language Arts

Friday, October 11th ~ First Quarter Book Report Due

Monday, October 14th ~ No School, Professional Development for teachers

October 17th-19th ~ ABC Sale

October 18th ~ End of 1st Quarter, Spirit Day

October 24th ~ Parent-Teacher Conferences from 12:00-8:00

October 25th ~ Parent Teacher Conferences from 7:30-12:00

Thursday, October 31st ~ Halloween Class Parties at 2:30

 
Academics

In Language Arts both classes completed week six of Wordly Wise. We have also continued working on our first grammar unit of sentences. Our main grammar focus this week was on subjects and predicates. Students identified complete, simple, and compound subjects and predicates. We will wrap up our unit over sentences next week and students will take a test over this unit on Tuesday, October 8th. Students have already received a study guide for this test. Additionally, we have created a LiveBinder that students can use to practice at home. We used this LiveBinder in class this week, so students have had some experience with it. If they click on the link to the right that reads "LiveBinder for Grammar," they can type in the access code grammar and access the website. Finally, students can use their language arts book to help them review. Pages 68-71 and pages 74-85 contain additional practice for each part of the unit.

Both reading classes continued to read their class novels and practiced their reading strategies as they read. Miss Laird's class read through chapter 18 of Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix. We will finish the novel next week. Mrs. Nash's class finished Holes by Louis Sachar this week. We examined point of view as we completed the novel.We will take a comprehension test over this novel on Monday, September 30th and then enjoy the movie version of the book. Students should also continue to work on their book reports. Book reports are due Friday, October 11th. We have suggested to students that they complete their books by Friday, October 4th so they have a week to write the report. 
 
In social studies this week, we completed our final review for our first test and then took the test on Tuesday. Our students spent a great deal of time preparing for this assessment, and their hard work paid off! We were very impressed with their success. We are now beginning an in-class group project as we examine the question: Who really discovered America? We will analyze several theories surrounding this question and students will argue one particular theory with their group. These projects will be completed entirely in class so students will not have any responsibilities relating to this project outside of school.

This week in science we wrapped up our second experiment. Students worked in groups to design an experiment using the scientific method to test the absorbency of a Sham-Wow. Students were given a sham-wow, a paper towel product, and a regular kitchen towel to test this. They completed a full lab report and discussed the successes and failures the students had with the plan and procedures they created. They will have their first science test on Friday October 4th. Study guides were sent home today. 


Learning Objectives

Below are the learning objectives for our current units. Both science and reading have stayed the same since we are wrapping up our first units. There are new learning objectives for social studies and language arts listed below.


Language Arts
Students will: 
  • Identify complete sentences and sentence fragments.
  • Identify and write declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences. 
  • Write compound sentences correctly.
  • Correctly capitalize and punctuate simple and compound sentences.
  • Identify the complete subject and complete predicate as well as the simple subject and simple predicate in a sentence. 
  • Combine sentences using compound subjects and compound predicates.
  • Identify and correct run-on sentences, sentence fragments, and comma splices. 
  • Students will spell grade-appropriate words correctly and will determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words.  
Reading 
Students will:
  • Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details from the text.     
  • Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.
  • Determine a theme of a story from details in the text, including how characters in a story respond to challenges.    
  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
Social studies 
  •  Students will demonstrate an understanding that different scholars may describe the same event or situation in different ways but must provide reasons or evidence for their views.
  • Students will use evidence to support and explorer's claims and make final judgments regarding who discovered the Americas. 
  • Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent. 
  • Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which points. 
  • Present an opinion, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas.
Science 
Students will: 
  • Be able to determine or give examples of variables in within an experiment.     
  • Be able to apply the knowledge of scientific method by following the steps in an already developed experiment.  
  • Be able to recall the meaning of hypothesis and identify a hypothesis.    
  • Be able to understand the difference and relationship of observing, inferring, and hypothesizing.  
  • Be able to write a hypothesis using two variables. 
  • Be able to explain the importance of variables in a hypothesis.




October Community Learning Events 
St. Paul's is offering a variety of sessions on various topics for community members to attend. Below are the events for October. If you are interested in attending any of these events, please contact Linda van Thullenar at lvan@speds.org. 

Tuesday, October 1st ~ Bill Severns, Keepers of the Sandlot and Sportsmanship at 6 pm

Thursday, October 10th ~ Love and Logic #1 at 4 pm

Saturday, October 12th ~ Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch - Community Builder from 10 am-2 pm

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