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!