Monday PE | Tuesday OMSI | Wednesday ART | Thursday ELC ART | Friday ASM |
2/10--All School Meeting
2/10--Level 3 and 4 Dance
2/20--No School, President's Day
We wrapped up our chemistry unit this week with a little quiz on the concepts we especially focused on:
-ways to prove that matter takes up space and has mass
-indicators of a chemical reaction
-conservation of mass during a reaction
This week we will be moving into the start of our space unit, which focuses on the earth, moon and sun. I am also hoping to kick off a fun, few month-long project, called Mystery Classroom, which is a global geography game of playing hide and seek. Based on weekly clues we try to determine where hidden classrooms are located!
Literacy
This week we focused particularly on the lead of our fantasy. How will we hook our reader, introduce the main character, setting, and conflict. Easier said than done. Help your student by reading their fantasy together, asking questions, fixing errors, giving them ideas, etc. We finished our first literature circle book and now kids will start their 2nd book in the series they started. We ended our book by looking at theme--the message the writer dramatized throughout the story.
Ask, what's the theme in the fantasy you are writing? What was the theme in the fantasy you read?
Listen to your child read the lead to their fantasy, what tips can you give them?
Extend the learning by reading/writing a fantasy together.
6th Grade Math
We are moving onto our next block--which looks at perimeter, area, surface area and volume. More multiplying and dividing of fractions and decimals! Sit down with your child and see how they are doing with setting up their notes and completing assignments. Have them teach you! :)
Ask, what's the formula for finding the area of a triangle and why do you either multiply the base and height by 1/2 or divide by 2?
Listen to your child explain why area is units squared.
Extend the learning by doing projects with your child that require finding area, volume and perimeter.
5th Grade Math-
Last week, the 5th grade mathematicians worked to understand powers of tens and the patterns when multiplying and diving by them. We also used the end of the week for small-group review of earlier units and retake opportunities.
This week we once again turn our attention to fractions and decimals, specifically for division and multiplication. We'll start the week looking at the reasoning behind the division interpretation of division. After that, move into division of a whole number by a fraction and of a fraction by a whole number. Since by definition, a decimal is a fractions, we'll connect what we know about dividing fractions to dividing decimals.
ASK your mathematician to explain the division interpretation of 3/5 using the number line.
LISTEN to your child explain how to divide a fraction by a whole number.
EXTEND the learning by looking for fraction division in your everyday life.