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Spelling: We reviewed common writing mistakes involving extra words or letters that should be “ditched.” Here are some examples:

• Say “until then…”, not “up until then…”.
• Toward, backward, forward, not towards, backwards, forwards.
• Say “whether”, not “whether or not”.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a reading and discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: We talked about different ways to begin an essay:

1. Summarize the book at the beginning using action details to interest the reader.
2. Lead with a question about the theme.
3. Use a quotation from the book.
4. Lead with the theme, then summarize the book.

Students also continued to draft their literary essay project.

The next piece of writing, a literary essay (here’s an example), is due Friday, February 8. Students should be drafting their essay at this point.

Math: None today due to STAR Friday.

Science: None today.

Social Studies: Students finished a test about early English colonies.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 1
  
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 3

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.

Spelling: We reviewed common spelling patterns for the /tch/ sound and learned that ch usually follows a long vowel sound, and tch usually follows a short vowel sound.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles; some groups worked on visualizing and making connections as reading strategies.

Writing: We talked about how the evidence and examples for an essay can be organized in different ways:

• By time:
  • In the beginning of the book…
  • Later in the book…
  • Near the end…
• By character:
  • One character…
  • Another character…
• By reason:
  • One reason…
  • Another reason…

Students also continued to draft their literary essay project.

The next piece of writing, a literary essay (here’s an example), is due Friday, February 8. Students should be drafting their essay at this point.

Math: We learned that dividing decimals by powers of 10 can be done with mental math by moving the decimal to the left. Homework is to finish Journal P7-1.

Science: We continued to learn about how scientists test medicines scientifically using treatment and control groups, and how the placebo effect is when some patients who take a placebo actually improve their health, even though they were treated with a medicine.

Social Studies: We reviewed for tomorrow’s test about early English colonies. Here is a practice test.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 0
  
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 2

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Congratulations to Sam, McGrath Spelling Bee champion! (pics here)
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.

Spelling: None today due to students receiving new seats.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: Students started their essay project by having a prewriting conference or reading a book to write an essay.

The next piece of writing, a literary essay (here’s an example), is due Friday, February 8. Students should be prewriting what their essay will be about at this point.

Math: Students worked on a math test about multiplying decimals.

Science: We started to learn about how scientists test medicines scientifically.

Social Studies: Students designed an advertisement about all the features of Plymouth, or one of the other English colonies we have learned about. Homework is to finish notebook p. 38.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 0
  
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 2

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.

Spelling: None today due to extra time with writing.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles; some groups worked on questioning and breaking words into parts as reading strategies.

Writing: We read a short story about a sibling rivalry and practiced writing an essay.

The next piece of writing, a literary essay (here’s an example), is due Friday, February 8. Students will start to write their own essays tomorrow and will need a book or story to write an essay about.

Math: We reviewed for tomorrow’s math test about multiplying decimals. A practice test can be found  in the math book on pp. 164-165.

Science: None today due to extra time with writing.

Social Studies: None today due to our math skills practice time.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 2
  
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 2

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.

Spelling: We reviewed common spelling patterns for the /ch/ sound: ch and tch.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: None today due to the middle school scheduling assembly.

Writing: Students continued to write write an essay from a short story we read this week.

The next piece of writing, a literary essay (here’s an example), is due Friday, February 8. Students will select a book or story and write an essay to share their thoughts about a theme or big idea from the story.

Math: None today due to STAR Friday.

Science: We reviewed the clinical trials experiment completed yesterday.

Social Studies: We learned about King Philip’s War in which the American Indians fought against the English settlers in New England. Homework is to finish notebook p. 37.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 2
  
• Orange magnets: 1
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 7

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Middle school course request sheets are due by February 14.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.