Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I spent mine working on a quilt for my in-laws and taking luxurious naps with my cats.

We have our first “normal” week for a while! We are excited to get back to a routine schedule-wise for the next three weeks.

Students have some big assignments coming up. We will be finishing units and the end of the quarter always has loose ends to tie up-meaning final tests and assignments to turn in before break. Please carefully read the “Our week in learning” section for more information on due dates for these assignments.

Our week in learning

Students will be introduced to direct objects and take a brief quiz tomorrow over Monday’s lesson.

Students will complete a weekly literature summary from last week’s reading of Where the Red Fern Grows, and continue to read the next three chapters of the book.

Students will continue their 100 point project this week based on Where the Red Fern Grows. Look for an information packet coming home! Students are given a number of mini-assignments work various point values ranging from 5-40 points, and must complete any assignments whose value adds up to 100 points. This will be primarily the student’s responsibility, and they will have until December 7th to complete it. I will give students some time in class to work on this, but it will primarily be homework.

Students took a roots quiz last week, so they will learn their new roots this week and resume quizzes next week.

Keep an eye out for the new poem coming home.

This week in science, students will begin studying animal cells. They will learn the functions and locations of organelles in the cell. There will be a short quiz on Friday.

This week in History, students will continue our unit on “Golden Age to Glorious Revolution”. We will discuss King Charles II and King James II, and the monarch’s that brought on the revolution-William and Mary. Students will complete the final draft of their Charles I articles due on Thursday. Study guides for the Glorious Revolution test will go home on Monday, 11/27, and are due on Friday, 12/1. The Glorious Revolution test will take place on Monday, 12/4.

Students have finished the 50 states unit and will demonstrate their knowledge by creating a brochure for a randomly chosen state. States will be chosen and information given on Monday. Their final brochure is due for presentation on Wednesday, 12/13. We will present on their states until Winter break.

This week in Math, students will review multiplying and dividing fractions, and solving word problems using division and multiplication of fractions. Students will test over Unit 4 on Thursday, 11/30. On Friday, students will begin learning about area, perimeter, and surface area.

Updates and announcements

It was so nice to see all of you at the Winter concert and the Fall Festival this week! What a wonderful community we have here at Arete.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!

Our week in learning

Students will be introduced to direct objects and take a brief quiz tomorrow over Monday’s lesson.

Students will complete a weekly literature summary from last week’s reading of Where the Red Fern Grows, and continue to read the next three chapters of the book.

Students will begin their 100 point project this week based on Where the Red Fern Grows. Look for an information packet coming home! Students are given a number of mini-assignments work various point values ranging from 5-40 points, and must complete any assignments whose value adds up to 100 points. This will be primarily the student’s responsibility, and they will have until December 7th to complete it. I will give students some time in class to work on this, but it will primarily be homework.

This week in science, students will be introduced to the structure of cells. They will extend on the differences between Prokaryotes (cells with no nuclei) and Eukaryotes (cells with nuclei), a concept touched upon in our Classification unit. On Tuesday, students will write a short compare-contrast paragraph about Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes.

This week in History, students will continue our unit on “Golden Age to Glorious Revolution”. We will discuss the cowardice and execution of Charles I and the reign of Oliver Cromwell. Students will get to write an article describing the reasons behind the execution of Charles I. The rough draft is due on Tuesday, 11/28 and the final draft rewritten on construction paper is due 11/30. This assignment is normally given over 2 days, and students have 2 non-R&R days to complete the rough draft. Please note that there will be a 50 states location test on 11/21. Here are some online resources for students to use to study: https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3003

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA_Geography/USA_GL_click_1024.html

https://www.sporcle.com/games/Matt/find_the_states

https://www.bls.gov/k12/content/games/geography-quiz/geography-quiz.htm (This one lists statistics about the state.)

This week in Math, students will continue to learn about multiplying and dividing fractions. Students will be working on solving multi-step word problems that involve fractions.

Updates and announcements

We have a busy week coming up! I will be out of the classroom at a math conference on Monday and Wednesday. Our students will be safe in Ms. White’s capable hands. Due to this, I may be slow at replying to emails, so I apologize in advance. Rest assured, I will be at our Archway music concert this Wednesday, 11/15/17, despite being out during the school day.

The Fall Festival is this Saturday!

Our week in learning

This week in language arts, students will continue crafting their personal narratives, moving from abstract ideas to rough and final drafts.

Students will complete a weekly literature summary from last week’s reading of Where the Red Fern Grows, and continue to read the next three chapters of the book.

Students will recite their poems, “The Road Less Taken”, on Wednesday, November 15^th.

This week in science, students will take the unit test on Classification on Tuesday, 11/14. Study guides are due Monday, 11/13 and will be reviewed in class. Students will begin their next unit on cells by reading a selection of a text by Robert Hooke, a scientist from the 17th century who first looked at cells under a microscope. Students will compare prokaryotic cells (cells with no nuclei) to eukaryotic cells (cells with nuclei) and will begin to study the difference between plant and animal cells next week.

This week in History, students will begin our unit on “Golden Age to Glorious Revolution”. We will discuss the monarchs of England starting with Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) and Queen Elizabeth I. We will also go over England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada, Sir Francis Drake, and the English Civil War, focusing on King James I, King Charles I, the Cavaliers and Roundheads. Please note that there will be a 50 states location test before Thanksgiving Break on 11/21. The study guides for this 50 states test are due on 11/20. Here are some online resources for students to use to study: https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3003

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA_Geography/USA_GL_click_1024.html

https://www.sporcle.com/games/Matt/find_the_states

https://www.bls.gov/k12/content/games/geography-quiz/geography-quiz.htm (This one lists statistics about the state.)

This week in Math, students will continue to learn about multiplying and dividing fractions. Students will divide a whole number by a fraction and divide a fraction by a fraction. There will be no math groups this week.

Updates and Announcements

We are closing in on some fun activities! Check out the “Important Dates” section for more information.

We have some important assessments coming up. If you have a planned absence for your child before Thanksgiving, please let me know so he or she can take it before you leave.

Our week in learning

This week, students will focus on Writing during Block. They will work on brainstorming and pre-writing maps.

For Poetry, students will memorize “The Road Not Taken” for 11/15.

Students will complete a weekly literature summary from last week’s reading of Where the Red Fern Grows, and continue to read the next three chapters of the book.

In science this week, students will wrap up the Classification unit by learning about Kingdom Protista and Kingdom Monera - quite different organisms from plants, animals, and fungi! The Fungi Kingdom open-note take-home quiz sent home last Friday is due Monday, 11/6. On Friday this week, students will participate in an in-class unit review to prepare for the upcoming test. The Classification study guide that students have been working on nightly is due Monday, 11/13, and the unit test will take place on Tuesday, 11/14.

This week in History, students will begin learning about the Reformation. We will be addressing this topic as a historical event-not labeling “good” and “bad”. Students will be learning about the objective corruptions within the Catholic church at this time, then the Counter-Reformation, and lastly, the Reformation’s effect on science. This week, we will review the study guide for their test. The Reformation test will take place on Tuesday, November 7th. We will also learn about Alaska and Hawaii. Please note that there will be a 50 states location test before Thanksgiving Break on 11/21. The study guides for this 50 states test are due on 11/20. Here are some online resources for students to use to study: https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3003

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA_Geography/USA_GL_click_1024.html

https://www.sporcle.com/games/Matt/find_the_states
https://www.bls.gov/k12/content/games/geography-quiz/geography-quiz.htm (This one lists statistics about the state.)

This week in Math, students will continue to learn about multiplying and dividing fractions. Students will solve word problems that involve multiplying a fraction by a fraction and divide a fraction by a whole number. Open tutoring is on Mondays, 3:05-3:40. Math groups will take place this week at a different time due to the winter concert rehearsals. Math groups will be at 8:45-9:45.

Here are some fun resources for your child to use to study for the 50 States Location Test on 11/21.

https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3003

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA_Geography/USA_GL_click_1024.html

https://www.sporcle.com/games/Matt/find_the_states

https://www.bls.gov/k12/content/games/geography-quiz/geography-quiz.htm (This one lists statistics about the state.)