November 14-18

Wow, we had a full week of school and it was wonderful! I was beginning to forget what Fridays at work were like!

We are having a problem with sixth graders coming to school way too early. There is no supervision on the playground before 8:15. Please try not to drop them off or send them on their way before that time, unless they are on safety patrol.

Here is what you can expect this week.

Reading

We really enjoyed our mystery novels! Now we are reading nonfiction books and articles all about ancient Egypt. Specifically mummies and pyramids. The specific skills we are working on are about using questions to understand and comprehend text.

Spelling

Students will identify similarities and differences in words that look alike. They will also explore words that are spelled with ck, dge, and tch. They should be able to tell you what kind of vowel usually comes before these spelling patterns.

Math

We will finish topic 5 by Thanksgiving break. This week we are focused on greatest common factors and understanding fractions. They really need parents to reinforce this at home. Ask them to explain factors and fractions to you.

Writing

The majority of writing people do in their life is nonfiction. We will focus on that this week. Students are going to write about mummies. They should be able to tell you all about how mummies were made, why they were made and what was buried with them.

Science

This week will be the start of our third microorganism rotation. Our class will go to Mrs. Engel's room for fungi. Our vocabulary words are tied to what they are learning in science this week.

Social Studies

We are integrating our study of Egypt into writing and reading this week. Mummies and pyramids will be the main focus.

Thanks and have a great week!

Volunteer Calendar

October 31-November 4

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone gets their sugar fix this week. I will be sending out a new volunteer calendar this weekend. I sent it to parents who wanted to help in October but did not get a chance first, then I will send it out to the rest of you.

Here is what you can expect this week.

MATH

Topic 4 has been about balancing and solving equations. So many students are so good at solving equations, they want to skip the balancing part! Balancing equations gets more difficult as algebra progresses, so make sure they show the steps when solving equations.

We will have a test on topic 4 on Thursday.

READING

We have enjoyed are mystery novels so far. This week the novels will get exciting as we reach the end. Much of the grade for novels comes from the packets we complete in class. Students who keep up on the work will have better comprehension grades. Make sure your student is caught up.

SPELLING

I had several students unsure of what to do on our skill test last week. Remember, the skill test always matches the Take Home Task. Use it as a study guide for our skill tests at the end of the week. This week's skill focuses on spelling patterns for the /k/ sound.

WRITING

Country Report Outlines are due on Wednesday. We have been working on these in class. I have asked students to use organize their outlines using a program we have at school called Inspiration. We have used the notes to serve as headings, (geography, history etc.) and a write a topic sentence for each paragraph they plan to write. The subheadings should serve as details that support the topic sentence. Because students are using Inspiration, if they need more time at school I will extend the due date.

We will also be working on a short descriptive piece of writing about Thanksgiving and fall.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will begin our study of Ancient Egypt this week. Students will have vocabulary words relating to this unit. They will also label and color a map of Ancient Egypt. After we finish our Mystery novels we will spend time on non-fiction of Ancient Egypt.

SCIENCE

Rotations in science have begun. My class rotates to Mrs. Shreeve where they are learning all about Monerans.

Don't forget that we have parent teacher conferences this Tuesday and Wednesday. Students brought home a note with the date and time you are signed up for. If you have any conflicts, please let me know!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

October 10-14

I love the crisp, cool air! I think Fall is finally here.

Here is what you can expect this week!

Social Studies

We will learn how to take notes and create a bibliography this week. On the schedule, country report notes are due on the 19th. We will have plenty of time to work on them in class, but if your student feels like he/she needs the long Fall Recess Weekend, just let me know.

We will also learn about Hammurabi and his "eye for an eye" type of justice and finish up our study of Mesopotamia this week.

Spelling

This week's spelling skill focuses on the suffix rules for stressed and unstressed syllables. We will also look at different ways to spell the /k/ sound.

Writing

Students will work on taking notes for a research paper as well as finish up our unit on the writing trait of Ideas. Students will take a writing piece they completed and revise it for a final grade in this unit.

Reading

Because October is such a spooky month, we will read Mystery novels next. Students are required to keep a short journal and vocabulary list as we read. I collect these at the end of the unit. You can help by asking your student if they are caught up on reading and journal entries.

Home reading minutes are due on Monday mornings. I still have students who are not reading or getting their planner signed. Reading at home is one of the most important things you can do to become a better reader! Please encourage your student to read every day.

Math

We have spent a lot of time working on long division and division of decimals. One thing that I have noticed is that kids who don't know their multiplication facts really struggle with division. We have a timed multiplication test every week. Students who have not passed this off, need to be practicing at home.

Science

Students will learn all about protists this week. They are an interesting microorganism because the have plant and animal characteristics.

I will be out of the building on Thursday and Friday to attend a conference. I know I can count on students to be on their best behavior, but a reminder from home won't hurt either.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

October 3-7

Happy Monday! I spent the weekend in St. George and boy it was hot! I can't wait for the cooler weather to head our way! Here is what you can expect this week.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will continue our study of Mesopotamia. Students will learn about King Hammurabi and his "eye for an eye" laws!

SPELLING

This week's Take Home Task focuses on different ways to spell the /s/ sound. We will also look at singular and plural nouns as well as consonant digraphs.

WRITING

Harris Burdick stories will be due this week. We will look at different ways to elaborate on details to make our writing more vivid!

MATH

Multiplying and dividing decimals is a tricky concept! How can you help at home? Check homework with a calculator. If the answer is incorrect have them check their work and find where they made the mistake!

SCIENCE

Microorganisms here we come! We will begin this unit by looking at how living organisms are classified, then we will focus on protists. (They don't fit in very well!)

I will be in a meeting on Tuesday which means your students will have a substitute. Take a minute and talk to them about expected behavior when there is a visitor in the room.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Here is a look at our Volunteer Calendar....

September 26-30

I hope everyone enjoyed the three day weekend!

Here is what you can expect this week.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Country flags are due on Friday!

We will be learning about the world's first civilization in Mesopotamia. This will be combined with reading skills this week.

SPELLING

Students will practice words that have suffixes. The Take Home Task will come home on Tuesday and is due on Friday. Here is a huge hint...the plural of aircraft is aircraft. Students always add an s to this one.

WRITING

Students are writing stories based on nothing more than a picture and a caption. Ask them to tell you all about the Mystery of Harris Burdick.

READING

As students read about Mesopotamia and the Sumerians, they will practice comprehension skills specifically for non-fiction reading.

MATH

We will start Topic 3, Operations with Decimals this week. Students will be bringing home a note that gives you online access to our math program. This is a great resource to use for enriching what we have learned as well as added support.

SCIENCE

We will finish the scientific method this week. Students have learned all about the seven steps as well as the process skills associated with the Scientific Method.

FUNDRAISER PACKETS ARE DUE ON WEDNESDAY

Please note, we will be watching President Obama's address to students on Wednesday. A note will come home Tuesday explaining the Canyon District's decision to show the speech in the classroom. Any parents who would prefer that their student NOT participate need to fill out and send back the form on the back of the note. Only those NOT participating need to send the note back.

Have a great week!

Back to School!

Welcome back and thank you for taking the time to check out our classroom blog. Here is what you can expect your student to be doing this week.

SOCIAL STUDIES- We will finish our unit on "What is History?" by doing an activity on artifacts and how they help us learn about people in the past. We will take a break from social studies to work on our keyboarding skills.

SPELLING-This week's skill focuses on antonyms and synonyms. By Wednesday, your student should be able to tell you what the difference between them is. Students will have a Take Home Task come home on Tuesday to help them be prepared for the skill test on Friday.

WRITING-Students are working on an article for an imaginary school paper. They are focusing on the writing trait of Ideas. Their goal is to write an article that is specific and appropriate for the intended audience.

READING-We will begin our first novel unit this week. The theme of the books is survival. Monitoring comprehension will be the main focus of this unit. Ask students about their "inner voice" while reading.

MATH-Topic 1 dealt with place value of large numbers as well as decimal numbers. Topic 2 begins this week. We will cover variables, order of operations and properties of operations.

SCIENCE-The scientific method is an important set of steps that students should be familiar with. We are spending time on those steps as well as the accompanying process skills. This week focuses on predicting and identifying variables in an experiment.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

January 24-28

Happy Monday! Here is what you can expect this week.

Math: Topic 12 is on ratios. Help your student by pointing out how many unit rates we use in our daily lives. (Miles per hour is a perfect example.)

Social Studies: We are continuing our study of Ancient Greece. On Friday I graded the country report items that we have turned in so far. A list of items that are missing will be sent home with your student today. Please sign and return it as soon as possible.

Spelling: The skill to study this week is correctly spelling plurals.

Writing: We are working on the trait of word choice. Students will be practicing how to use similes and metaphors to improve word choice in writing.

Reading: New novels! Students will be reading books that have a common theme of bullies. There are some great characters in these books that learn how to deal with bullying behavior.

Science: There are two main reasons why Earth has seasons. Distance from the sun is NOT one of them. Ask your student to explain to you why we have seasons.

We have a field trip to Eastmont Middle School tomorrow. We will leave at 9:00 and return at 11:00.

Thanks for all you do for you child!

Have a great week!

January 3-7

Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed their time off. My family and I had a great time in Disneyland.

Math: Rotations have changed. Students who had Mrs. Boyce for math now see Mrs. Engel. Mrs. Engel's math class goes to Mrs. Shreeve and Mrs. Shreeve's class now comes to me. We started Topic 10 today which is adding and subtracting integers.

Social Studies: Ancient Rome is our current unit of study. Students will be earning Roman money for an activity at the end of our unit. We will be studying geography, the origins of Rome and the social structure of Rome this week.

ABC of Geography is K and due on Friday.

Country Report: Rough drafts were due on December 17th. We did not get to them so don't worry. I have moved the date to January 14th. Students should do these at home. The rough drafts don't have to be typed, but students need to include the traits of writing we have covered so far; ideas, organization, and word choice. They should use the notes they have taken to create the written report.

Spelling: The skill this week is adding the er suffix to words. The er suffix can mean "one who" or "more." Students should be able to add the suffix and know the meanings for the skill test on Friday.

Writing: We are learning about the trait of word choice. Students can practice this in their vocabulary. They should try to use interesting and vivid words to describe things.

Reading: Students are learning how to use contextual clues and background knowledge to infer or make an educated guess about the meanings of unfamiliar words and concepts.

Science: We are continuing to learn about the moon and its phases. On Thursday we will have a test on the reasons for the phases of the moon.

Thank you for all you do for your children!