Monday, August 24, 2009

Where Did Our Monday Go?!?!?!?

Whew! As the old saying goes, "Time flies When You're Having Fun..."

LA: We had one busy morning! Even with working hard, and taking very few breaks...we still didn't manage to get everything squeezed in! Yikes!

We started a new routine today. Every week we will have 5 words that we are learning in order to do better on our NWEA tests. This week's words with definitions and examples are:
*Simile- A phrase that compares 2 things using the words like or as. For example: The cheetah was as fast as a bullet train.
*Metaphor- A phrase that compares 2 things but doesn't use like or as. For example: The cheetah was a bullet train running through the jungle.
*Hyperbole- The use of exaggeration to make a point. For example: I have one million things to do before I go to bed.
*Idiom- A figure of speech or a group of words where the words don't match the meaning. For example: The cat got your tongue or It's raining cats and dogs.
*Onomatopoeia- A word that sounds like a sound. For example: Buzz, bang, crack
Please take time to review these this week with your child!

We also took our spelling pretest. Your child should have a list of appropriate spelling words to study. The spelling test will be given Friday morning. We also worked on our grammar skill of sentences.

We read a short story called "The Talent Contest." This story taught us our vocabulary words in context. Our vocabulary words for the week are slumped, soggy, capable, strands, gigantic, credit and luminous. The story helped us figure out our comprehension skill for the week. This week we will be looking at how character's thoughts and actions influence the plot (or the events of the story).

In addition to all of that, we also introduced this year's HOMEWORK! Weekly homework will once again be assigned every Monday, due the following Friday. This will take the place of last year's Fluency and Flow, although there are many similar parts. Each student should have their homework packet in their blue folders tonight. There are many sections. Please take some time to check it out with your child!

Section 1: Students must read aloud the weekly story to an adult (or older sibling) to practice their fluency in reading aloud. There is a spot on the top for a signature to verify this step was completed. If there is no signature, an Oops slip will be given.
Section 2: Students wrote in their vocabulary words from our story this week. The words will show up on their selection assessments at the end of the week. Please make sure your child is familiar with meanings to all of these words. Definitions can be found in the hard reading book, on the first page of the story.
Section 3: Students wrote in their RIT words of the week...although no formal assessment will be given on these words each week, students are still responsible for knowing what these words mean! These will help our NWEA scores!!!
Section 4: Students must write their spelling words in cursive on the provided lines.
Section 5: Students need to write a 7-10 sentence paragraph (in cursive) summarizing the story of the week.
Section 6: Students need to answer the questions at the end of the story, in complete sentences, and cursive.
Remember-all homework is due Friday morning at 8:05!
HW: Weekly homework is due Friday. Spelling test will be given Friday.

Math: We made it through lessons 1.2 and 1.3 today with ease! It was fun reviewing rectangular arrays and how to create them. We also had a great discussion on factors!
HW: Math box 1.1 (should have been previously done!), 1.2 and 1.3, Study Link 1.1 (parents just need to read!), 1.2 and 1.3 are all due tomorrow.

Social Studies: We took a few minutes to finish up Friday's card activity with our partners, then spent some time going over the answers together. We also read through section 1.4 and learned about many geography terms. We created pictures in our geography picture dictionaries to help us remember the meaning of the following words: sea, gulf, bay, lake, river, mountain, plain, peninsula, cape, island, valley, and delta. These will be words that students will need to review and know!
H.W.-Finish pictures in your geography picture dictionary...stay tuned for an announcement as to when the first test will be...it's going to be sooner rather than later!!!!

Things to watch for in blue folders:
  • Parent Information Night reminder-see you Thursday at 5:30!
  • Lego League information
  • Welcome back to school picnic info
  • Dr. Pepper supply sheet

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