Week of September 22, 2014

We have begun our ITBS testing, easing into the process with just one test today.  We continue testing Tuesday-Thursday, and then again next week.  As a result, our daily schedule has changed somewhat.  We are doing Math at 11 each day, and we will not be going to computer lab.

If your child does not have a blue or black pen for use at school, please purchase one for them.  The same goes for a set of washable markers.  Students are not to bring permanent markers or sharpies to school.

Since we are testing this week, and have three other tests we need to complete (see below), Reading Logs and ixL Math are not part of homework this week.  This would be a great week to redo any of the ixL skills that were extra challenging, and your child can certainly do more if he/she chooses.

This week in Vocabulary we continue our study of Unit three words.  The words can be accessed on the Vocabulary Workshop website and are in the Vocabulary workbook.  We will have a practice test on Thursday and the final test on Friday.

In Spelling we are studying homophones, which is unit 5, pages 42-46.  One page in the workbook should be completed each day.  We are drawing pictures of 10 of the words, and writing the other ten on the same poster.  This will be started on Tuesday and will be due on Friday.  We will have a practice test on Thursday and a final test on Friday.

In Grammar we will have a unit 1 test (lessons 1-7, through page 35) on Thursday. We are doing the review pages in class.  The most challenging part seems to be identifying the simple subjects and simple predicates.

In Math we are beginning Unit Two, which discusses different names and uses of numbers, reviews procedures for addition and subtraction, and revisits data collection, organization, display and analysis.  Look for math masters page 39 on Tuesday; this is a “Numbers Everywhere” search mission, to be done at home and brought to school by Thursday.

In Religion we begin Unit Two, in which we learn more about our responsibility to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. We learn about our conscience and our need at times for God’s forgiveness.

In Social Studies we are reading about the bodies of water in California, and we are reviewing the key terms covered so far in chapter one.

We continue our study of ecosystems in Science.  We conclude our study of land ecosystems and move on to water systems, with that being the focus of our lab on Thursday.

Reading groups continue in their chapter books: reading, discussing, and writing  summaries.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Dwyer