Updates and announcements

This is our last full week! If your child is going to be absent next week, please let me know so they can take any last assessments before they leave.

Our Where the Red Fern Grows celebration will take place next Wednesday.

Students will be cleaning their desks next Wednesday, but will not need to empty them as in years past. There is no need to send bags to hold their supplies this year.

Our week in learning

Students will finish their final drafts in class on Tuesday. On Wednesday, students will spend the day composing an essay by themselves as part of our writing workshop! I look forward to seeing what our students will produce. On Thursday and Friday, students will review their persuasive essays for the most effective arguments.

Students will take their 50 word roots test on Friday.

“The Snowstorm” recitations will take place this Wednesday, 12/13.

This week in science, students will review for and take their mitosis quiz, which will take place on Tuesday. Students will be expected to know the order of the stages of mitosis and what happens during each stage, as well as how mitosis differs from binary fission. On Thursday and Friday, students will conduct a bacteria-growing lab in which they will practice their scientific investigation skills.

This week in History, students will be presenting their Feudal Japan chapters as a group on Monday and Tuesday.

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. We will present on a volunteer basis, so students who will be absent the last week of school must present on Thursday or Friday.

This week in Math, students find the area and perimeter of odd-shaped figures, explore the area of a triangle (½ x base x height), parallelograms, and the surface area of rectangular prism, cube, and cuboids. Their last test of the quarter will be on Monday, December 18th. There are no math groups this week.