Weekly Happenings 4.30-5.4

Week 1 of MAP is complete! Everyone continues to put forth their best effort on the MAP test! I am beyond impressed with everyone's hard work! We only have two days left!

Here is what's happening this week:

Writing: We are starting a new unit this week. The students will write a literary essay. Today, the students chose the book they'll be using for their essay. We'll spend a few days this week going back through the book, taking notes on character traits, motivations, struggles, change, and the theme of the book. They'll also notice the setting, word choice, description, and figurative language. They'll eventually expand one of their notes to form a thesis and supporting reasons. 

Word Study: We'll be MAP testing during our word study time most of this week. The students will get a new set of spelling words on Friday.

Science: We are moving back to science this week. Our last chapter covers force and motion. We will be doing a lot of hands on/STEM activities to learn the concepts.

Math: This week we will be creating a Tessellation project using what we have learned about geometric shapes. A tessellation is an arrangement of shapes closely fitted together,  in a repeated pattern without gaps or overlapping.  Here are a few examples:

Reading: We are also starting a new reading unit. The students will be participating in book clubs. Today, the students got their books and decided which pages they would read each day. We will work on having meaningful conversations during the book club meetings. It's important for the students to keep up with their reading and bring discussion points to the meeting. 

Important Dates:

4.30 - 5.2 - Math MAP testing 9:00-11:00

5.3 - Junior Achievement 

5.4 - LEAP Medieval Fair