This Week...

March 16- March 20, 2015

Reading:  Students practiced identifying cause & effect relationships.  They read Beatrice’s Goat, the main selection for the week, which discussed the Heifer International charity organization.  We also read a Time for Kids article about Guinea-worm disease, which affects drinking water in Africa.  Students utilized nonfiction text features to understand important points in the article. Reading Logs are due Monday, March 30.  (200 minutes)

Math:  Students continued solving multiplication and division fact extensions.  They used their knowledge of basic facts to solve various puzzles.  They also reviewed how to estimate costs by rounding.  Students took their unit 7 test today.  We will begin unit 8 after spring break.    Xtra Math practice is due Monday, March 30. (6 sessions)  **If students are on double-digit multiplication fact tests, they are not required to do the Xtra math sessions.

Social Studies:  This week, students worked on reviewing major concepts from our Illinois unit.  Students took their unit test on Thursday.  They also took their West states and capitals test on Wednesday.  We will be starting our new science unit next when we return from spring break: The Solar System!

Writing:  In writing, students learned about persuasive writing!  We discussed the importance of supporting your opinions with facts.  Students read an article about extreme sports.  They took notes for each side of the argument.  Then, they wrote a persuasive essay about why kids should be allowed to play extreme sports.  They used evidence from the text to support their claim.  In grammar, we focused on subject and object pronouns.

Spelling/Cursive:  Today, we took our week 26 spelling test.

Miscellaneous:  On Monday, students enjoyed a presentation from the Cook County Farm Bureau.  They learned about agribusiness and how important farming is to the state of Illinois.  Students also worked on Google presentations, posters, and models to show what they learned during their PL (Personalized Learning) research experience!  Just a reminder, March book orders are due today.  I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing spring break!