This Week:

Language Arts: In language arts, students will take a monthly Spalding assessment that helps us track their growth and then they will learn new words and review the phonograms. In literature, students will continue reading Ronia. In writing, students will begin the second opinion paper. 

Math: In math, students will finish the chapters on the four operations and will finish with a test covering the first two units. 

History: This week is Chilvary Week in history. Students were assigned their knight or maiden on Thursday. The focus this week is on the role of a knight in the Middle Ages. Chapters 6-10 will be tested on Friday. 

Science: The study of plants continues this week in science. Students will learn, and be expected to memorize, the parts of a flower. They will learn about plant reproduction and how seeds are dispersed. There will be a quiz toward the end of the week on plants. 

This week’s class motto is: Organization is the Key!

Each week we will discuss a class motto. The next two weeks, as well as the entire year, are spent working on organizational plans. Desks are organized a specific way, folders are organized, and backpacks are neat. Organization is a skill that can lead to success.

This week in Class:

 

History: This week, students will enjoy a serf/lord activity wherein they take on the roles of lords and serfs. This is in line with the theme of servitude and cooperation. Students will have a peer discussion about the Code of Chivalry and the values it was based on.

 

Science:   Having completed their study of electricity, students will now begin their study of life sciences. Students will start with a unit on plants, photosynthesis, and vascular versus non-vascular plants. 

 

Language Arts:  This week in Language Arts students will write the first major essay of the year. This is a step-by-step process and each step is monitored by the teacher. In Literature, students will read Emil and the Detectives. This is a wonderful story. This is a read aloud and students are not required to have a copy of their own. In Spalding there will be more words and more markings.

 

Math:  Students will continue the unit on order of operations and then move into multiplication and division.

This week’s class motto is: Organization is the Key!

Each week we will discuss a class motto. The next two weeks, as well as the entire year, are spent working on organizational plans. Desks are organized a specific way, folders are organized, and backpacks are neat. Organization is a skill that can lead to success. 

This week in Class:

History: This week in history, students will read about Charlemagne, and discuss his impact on Europe in the Middle Ages. They will also study the rise of Feudalism in the Middle Ages and explore what life was actually like for a serf. There will be an annual activity in which students take on the roles of serfs and lords.

Science:   This past week in science, students were able to discern the difference between a series circuit and a parallel circuit. They also had to create a parallel circuit on their own with two lights individually controlled by their own switches. They finished this week with a reading on electromagnetism. 

This week, students will then spend time reviewing all they have learned about electricity, then move into a life science unit.

Language Arts: This week in Language Arts students will continue the adventure with Curdie and Princess Irene. What plans do the nasty little Cobs have? Will Curdie survive? Who is Great Grandma Irene. All of these questions are answered as the students come to the conclusion of the book. In grammar, students will take a test on chapter 2 of their grammar books. In Spalding, there are more words and more markings.

  

Math:  Students will continue the unit on order of operations.

This week in Class:

History: This week in history, students will continue their study of the Byzantine Empire studying mosaics, Empress Theodora, and the Hagia Sophia. They will write an essay on the Empress and the church. There is a quiz on the Byzantine Empire unit. Additionally, students will test their knowledge of the countries of Europe on Tuesday.

Science:  This week in science, students will use their lab observations to solidify their understanding of circuits. By the end of the week, students will be able to explain how a series circuit is different from a parallel circuit, and the advantages of parallel circuits in building a home. On Friday, students will learn how electricity can turn metal into a magnet. 

Language Arts: This week, in Language Arts, students will continue to deepen their understanding of sentence classification and sentence diagramming. Students will be able to use adverbs and adjectives properly in sentences. In Literature, the mystery surrounding Great Grandma Irene is revealed. In Spalding, students will do more words, with more markings. 

Math:  Students will begin the unit on order of operations. 

SUPPLIES NEEDED

Tissues

This week’s class motto’s are:  

Enter Silently/ Exit Silently, Silent/Facing Front/ Close Together, and Transition is Silent and Efficient

Each week we will discuss a class motto. The first four weeks we covered these three mottos. This week we solidify these mottos as part of our classroom culture. We will talk about how it is very important to line up quickly and quietly in the hallway. Students stand silent, facing front, and are close together. I like to allow my scholars some more freedom, as they are older, so I often allow them to set their own lines, or walk ahead, etc. In the early part of the year, though, it is vital they learn how line up quickly and silently.

This week in Class:

History: This week in history, students will complete the maps of Europe. They begin a journey into a brief two-week unit on the Eastern Romance Empire.  Students will study the Byzantine Empire, Justinian and Theodora, and the Hagia Sophia.

Science:  Students will take the information they gathered from the lab and apply it to a new lab. The goal is that they come to understand the differences between insulators and conductors. By the end of the week, students should grasp the concept of series circuits, and the flow of electrons.

Language Arts: This week, in Language Arts, students will deepen their understanding of sentence classification and sentence diagramming. Students will be able to use adverbs and adjectives properly in sentences. In Literature, the plot thickens, as Curdie discovers the plot that has been hatched by the Cobs. Will Princess Irene be safe? In Spalding, students will do more words, with more markings.  

Math: Students will go through a final week of review in multiplication and division before starting a unit on order of operations.