Happy Monday!
As we begin the 2nd quarter of the school year, we're also beginning a new spelling program, Words Their Way. I'm really excited about this curriculum, and feel that it'll give our kids much more support in their spelling, reading, and vocabulary development! The video that I've linked to below explains how Word Their Way works, and gives some really helpful information about the sorts that kids will do with their words. The first part goes really fast, but then it slows down and demonstrates each type of sort. We're going to watch it in class today, and you may want to watch it again at home so that you understand the new processes that your children are learning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_rs1ow9gWI
All of the kids will need a new composition notebook to use for Words Their Way. If you could send one in as soon as possible, that would be wonderful! The kids will bring home their new, differentiated spelling lists this week, and will have new activities for spelling homework as well.
This Week In...
Bible: We'll be learning about how the death of Stephen was followed by great persecution of Christians. Our memory verse this week is: Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Literacy: We'll be focusing on learning the new sorts that we will be doing with spelling words. We'll also be reviewing synonyms and antonyms and how knowing these can help us figure out what words mean.
In 4th grade we'll be working on Asking and Answering Questions: specifically where do we find the answers to the questions about a text. We'll practice answers that are "right there" in the text, and ones where we have to "pull together" information from more that one place in the text, as well as those that require us to infer using our background knowledge.
In 5th grade we'll be reviewing and digging deeper into Characters. We'll talk about how we know what a character is thinking and feeling by paying attention what he or she feels, acts like, says, or thinks. We'll also learn about antagonists and protagonists.
Social Studies: In 4th grade we'll talk about the battles at Lexington and Concord, including the "shot heard 'round the world" that was the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
In 5th grade we'll learn about the Inca Civilization and make masks out of air dry clay. We'll add symbols to the mask that represent each of the ancient civilizations that we've learned about.
Have a great week!
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