Friday, Septmember 24

Welcome to Fall! It officially started on September 22!

Math: Students have begun learning about Algebra. We deeply studied the equal sign and talked about always keeping both sides balanced. They discovered that you can change things in the equation as long as whatever you do to one side is done to the other. We have started writing and solving algebraic equations.

Science: This week we brought all of our seasons knowledge together as we looked at a diagram and model of the earth moving around the sun. Students worked on study guides to start preparing for their seasons test. It will be October 7th.

Social Studies: We compared the cultures of the Assyrians and Babylonians. Assyrians were mighty warriors that conquered many people. Babylonians also conquered land but they were very into learning. They fought each other many times. In the end the Brains, Babylonians, over took the Assyrians.

Spelling & Vocabulary: Test was today. Students need to remember to study their words throughout the week. Next week we'll be starting homophones for spelling words and have a word meaning test on Friday, instead of a traditional spelling test. The culminating unit vocabulary test is the week of October 4-8. Keep studying those definitions! Some study tips: know antonyms and synonyms of the words, know how to write them in a sentence, and know how to draw the definition of the word.

Reading: We are almost finished with Metacognition. We read a story called, "Zlata's Diary." It is a diary of a girl named Zlata who lived in Bosnia when war broke out. We spent some time discussing September 11, 2001, and the events that occurred on that day. Some students were unclear about why that date is important to America so we briefly discussed what happened and some results. We will finish up Metacognition this week and move onto Monitor for Meaning.

Writing: We are onto the Publishing phase of our Personal Narratives! :) Unfortunately, we won't be able to complete the Publishing until after Keyboarding ends. Some students have already started working on new stories.