earlis’s Blog

Spelling List — Week 34

Focus:  Some words are easily confused because they

have similar pronunciations and spellings.

1. of
2. off
3. except
4. accept
5. which
6. witch
7. where
8. were
9. weather
10. whether
11. plant
12. planet
13. bounds
14. bounce
15. desert
16. dessert
17. rise
18. raise
19. dinner
20. diner

Math

The last two weeks of school we will be working on Hands-On-Algebra equations.  This is a concrete and fun way for kids to grasp Algebraic concepts quickly.  The kids always get a kick out of finding the mystery number and proving that their solution works!

Social Studies

Many of the students have been working hard to earn those Civil War points.  I especially like the book reports several have chosen to write about the book Pink and Sayby Patricia Polacco.  Here is a reminder of how many points you need to earn the rank and the grade you desire:

Points                     Grade           Rank                                

0-49                       59%   F          Dishonorable discharge

50-99                     63%   D-            Private

100-149                  66%   D              Corporal

150-199                  69%   D+            Sergeant

200-299                  73%   C-             Lieutenant

300-399                  76%   C               Captain

400-499                  79%   C+             Major

500-599                  83%   B-              Colonel

600-699                  86%   B                General

700-799                  89%   B+              *General

800-899                  95%   A-              **General

900-1000                100%   A              ***General

MAP TESTING

With MAP testing going on this week we have not had a spelling list.  We will have a new list of words next week.  Your children having been working extremely hard and you should be very proud of them.  Just a few reminders of upcoming events:

• Friday is our MAP celebration day.  We have had a tremendous response to our request for help with the pancake breakfast and several students have brought in snacks to share during the movie.
• Don’t forget about the “Couch Potato” basket that our team is putting together to donate to the spaghetti dinner raffle to benefit 6th grade student Stephen Wingfield.
• The infamous 5th grade Civil War Unit is on the horizon.  Look for more details soon!

Spelling List — Week 29

Focus:  Possessives

1. friend’s
2. today’s
3. Dad’s
4. Mom’s
5. sister’s
6. sisters’
7. child’s
8. children’s
9. person’s
10. people’s
11. grandmother’s
12. grandfather’s
13. uncle’s
14. uncles’
15. doctor’s
16. doctors’
17. cousin’s
18. cousins’
19. woman’s
20. women’s

Math

Today we began our unit on measurement by discussing elapsed time and temperature.  The rest of the week we will work on customary and metric units of length, capacity and weight.

Social Studies

Our unit test covering the 13 original colonies will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31st.  Don’t forget to turn in your extra credit logs!  Next we will continue our study of the early American years by moving into the Revolutionary War period.

Spelling list — Week 27

Focus:  Adding Suffixes

-able, -ible, -ant, -ent

In most words that end in “e” , the “e” is dropped.

In most words that end in “y”, the “y” is changed to “i”.

1. comfortable
2. reasonable
3. washable
4. responsible
5. sensible
6. contestant
7. defiant
8. servant
9. student
10. resident
11. agreeable
12. valuable
13. convertible
14. flexible
15. reversible
16. observant
17. occupant
18. urgent
19. confident
20. opponent

Math

A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle isn’t a square.  Huh?  We ended the week with some very confusing statements about Quadrilaterals.  We will continue our Geometry unit by taking a look at other polygons and solid figures.

Social Studies

Students have been learning about the 13 original English colonies.  They are commonly broken into three unique groups: the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies.  We will begin filling out a study guide sometime this week.  We will also begin learning which colonies fit into which category and where they are located on a map.

Spelling List 26

Focus – Prefixes

dis-, un-, mid-, pre-

1. discovered
2. disorder
3. unsure
4. unclear
5. unable
6. midweek
7. midyear
8. midway
9. pretest
10. preschool
11. disappoint
12. disobey
13. disapprove
14. unbuckle
15. unlimited
16. midnight
17. midstream
18. precook
19. prepaid
20. prerecorded

Math

Friday we took a test over Statistics and Probability.  This week we will begin our Geometry unit.  We will review lines, rays, angles, triangles,  and quadrilaterals.

Social Studies

In social studies we have been reading about the New England and Middle Colonies.  This week we will learn about the Southern Colonies.  During i-time students will be reading one of the following 3 books:  The Salem Witch Trials, The Lost Colony of Roanoke, or Free Black Communities in the time of Slavery.

Spelling List–25

Focus: Related Words

These words have parts that are spelled the same, but are pronounced differently.  example:  cloth and clothes

1. please
2. pleasant
3. cloth
4. clothes
5. sign
6. signature
7. dream
8. dreamt
9. part
10. partial
11. moist
12. moisten
13. breathe
14. breath
15. create
16. creature
17. elect
18. election
19. practice
20. practical

Math

Last week we began our Statistics and Probability unit.  Students had fun experimenting with dice and Valentine’s candy hearts.  This week we will continue gathering data through experiments, graphing results on Excel, and answering analyzing questions.  It is fun to see the kids excited about math!

Social Studies

From the early European explorers, we move on in our studies to the colonization of North America.  Last week we learned that one of the main differences between a Pilgrim and a Puritan is that Pilgrims wanted to separate from the Church of England while the Puritans wanted to purify themselves and their church.  We will also discover the differences in the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.  Do you remember the 13 original colonies?

*Due to the weather and school cancellations this past week, several things have been rescheduled.  The first item is that we will use the same spelling list the students received on Monday, Jan. 26th for this next week.

Spelling List 22

Focus:  Vowel sound /ar/  spelled “are” or “air”

            Vowel sound /ir/ spelled “ear” or “eer”

1. aware
2. prepare
3. share
4. dairy
5. stairway
6. dear
7. beard
8. appear
9. volunteer
10. career
11. declare
12. spare
13. beware
14. prairie
15. repair
16. weary
17. smear
18. cheery
19. pioneer
20. reindeer

MATH

The long division test has been rescheduled for Monday, February 2nd.  The students took a pretest Monday, Jan. 26th,  and we went over answers and strategies on Friday, Jan. 30th.  After the test on Monday, we will spend the rest of the week beginning our Statistics and Probability unit.  This has always proven to be a fun unit for the kids, as we do experiments in class to help our understanding of the math concepts being taught.

Social Studies

The explorer unit test will now be Tuesday, February 3rd.  Students may keep adding days to their study chart for extra credit.  They have been working hard on their ABC explorer books.  It is neat to see their creativity!

Spelling List 21

Focus: Vowel sounds /ar/ and /er/

as in garbage, return, and journal

1. army
2. starve
3. scar
4. garbage
5. hamburger
6. return
7. purpose
8. surface
9. courage
10. journal
11. argue
12. apartment
13. guitar
14. Arkansas
15. curl
16. purse
17. furniture
18. courtesy
19. nourish
20. journey

Math

Since our return from Christmas break, we have been working on dividing by 2 digit divisors.  This week we will add to our division knowlegde as we divide decimals by whole numbers.  We will also work on changing fractions to decimals and the problem solving skill — choose the operation.  We are getting close to being ready for a division unit test early next week.

Social Studies

As a fun way to wrap up our Explorer Unit, we will be working on making ABC explorer books in class.  Each student will be assigned 5 letters of the alphabet to contribute to their group’s book.  Another important thing to remember, is that we have finished taking notes on this unit and students should be studying them a little each night, because there are a lot of names, places, and facts to remember.

Spelling List 20

Focus:  Vowel sounds in ”boy” & “out”

1. choice
2. noisy
3. loyal
4. destroy
5. powder
6. towel
7. downtown
8. amount
9. our
10. outside
11. spoil
12. poison
13. Illinois
14. annoy
15. oyster
16. voyage
17. drown
18. growl
19. couch
20. surround

Math

Last week we began division with 2 digit divisors.  This week we will cover the following topics: correcting quotients, practicing division, and using prediction and testing as a problem solving strategy.

Social Studies

We have finished filling in our graphic organizer of the explorers.  We will have a unit test in 2 weeks.  Students should be reviewing the information in the notes we took a little each night in order to prepare for the test.  In the meantime, we will be making ABC explorer books.

Spelling List 17

Focus:  Irregular Plurals

1. radios
2. videos
3. pianos
4. heroes
5. potatoes
6. cuffs
7. beliefs
8. themselves
9. lives
10. leaves
11. patios
12. banjos
13. echoes
14. tornadoes
15. tomatoes
16. cliffs
17. hoofs  (or hooves)
18. roofs
19. loaves
20. halves

MATH

      This week we will continue practicing our long division skills.  Topics included will be:  zeros in division, choosing a method to find the quotient, and “interpreting the remainder”.  Interpreting the remainder is a problem solving skill where students have a decision to make in different situations where a remainder has occurred.

Social Studies

     This week will will read about explorers like John Cabot and Henry Hudson.  We will be using a graphic organizer to take notes about various different explorers to help us “keep the facts straight”.

Miscellaneous Facts

Thursday is the Black Team’s Christmas Crafts Reward party.  Friday morning will be our field trip to see a Christmas Opera.  Friday afternoon will be our i-dollar assembly and Christmas party!!!!!