This Week...

May 4- May 8, 2015

Reading:  While reading Wilbur’s Boast, students made judgments about characters’ actions.  They used clues from the story and their own background knowledge to decide if the action was appropriate.  Theme continued to be a focus this week.  Students read an African folktale entitled Name of the Tree.  They determined various themes by focusing on text clues. Reading Logs are due Monday, May 11.  (100 minutes)

Math:  Students continued to practice using the partial-products algorithm to solve double-digit multiplication problems.  Students also explored another multiplication method: lattice!  Positive and negative numbers were also a focus.  Students learned how to find the differences between negative and positive numbers using a thermometer.  The unit 9 test will be on Thursday, May 14.  A review guide went home today. Xtra Math practice is due Monday, May 11. (3 sessions)  **If students are on double-digit multiplication fact tests, they are not required to do the Xtra math sessions.

Social Studies:  We discussed the history behind the settlement of Chicago, including Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, our city’s founder.  Students also read a real diary account, preserved from the Chicago Historical Society, written by a woman living at Fort Dearborn back in the 1800s.  Students discovered interesting problems Chicago had when it was first formed and how transportation transformed the city of in the late 1800s.  Students also learned interesting details about The Great Chicago Fire.

Writing:  In WEX, students worked on adding dialogue to their stories.  They also wrote the next part in their short fiction pieces: rising action 2!  Students really enjoyed creating details to make their problems more exciting.  May writing words went home this week.  This will be the final list of the year.  There will be a cumulative test at the end of the month.  In grammar, students worked on using comparative adjectives.

Spelling/Cursive:  Today, we took our week 32 spelling test.  Students wrote the letters “I” and “J” in their cursive packets.

Miscellaneous:  May book orders went home this week and will be due Thursday, May 14.  This will be the last book order of the year.  Students were happy to applaud all of our fabulous volunteers at the Volunteer Breakfast on Thursday.  Thank you for helping make Dryden such a special place!  Today, students enjoyed the SOLAR awards and learned which planets won the various categories!  Just a reminder, the next round of PARCC testing will begin next week.  An informational letter went home on Wednesday with specific dates and times.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Finally, thank you to everyone who made me feel so special during Teacher Appreciation week…I truly appreciate it!  Have a fabulous weekend!