Feb. 27-March 1

A Look Ahead:

Thursday, February 28--Panther-PALOOZA!

Friday, March 1--NO SCHOOL--Institute Day

Friday, March 1--End of 2nd Trimester


We had reading buddies this week!  They were so happy to see us!

Reading - Journeys - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
We have finished reading chapter 3 and 4 in this novel.  We will continue to focus on vocabulary, content, and symbolism. At the end of the week, students will read two poems that are paired with the novel to look for similar themes and personification.

In addition to reading our novel, we have been learning about skills on adjectives, finding the theme, and story sequencing.  We will continue to develop these skills in stations, next week.



Spelling
  We will be learning about relative adverbs and pronouns, as well as, some reading content words in spelling. Our test will be Thursday, February 28.

Week 21 - Quizlet

https://quizlet.com/188253336/integrated-spelling-and-vocabulary-week-21-16-sp-8-vocab-flash-cards/

https://quizlet.com/188263513/integrated-spelling-and-vocabulary-week-21-12-sp-4-vocab-mod-flash-cards/

https://quizlet.com/188265932/integrated-spelling-and-vocabulary-week-21-12-sp-4-vocab-chinese-mod-flash-cards/

Social Studies -  Bountiful Midwest Farms
The crops of the Central and Great Plains will be our focus this week. Be sure to ask your child why certain crops grow better in one area than another and about why farmers use crop rotation.

Science - Energy Conversions
We will start Chapter 4 in our lesson.  This chapter asks the students:
How does energy get to the devices all over Ergstown?
We will learn more about Blackouts and system failures.

Mrs. Spakausky and Mr. Kowalsky's Math Class-Unit 5-Geometry and Measurement

Module 1

Measuring Angles

Session 1 Unit 5 Pre-Assessment

Session 2 Introducing Angles

Session 3 Benchmark Angles

Session 4 Angle Puzzles

Session 5 Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland

Session 6 From Pattern Blocks to Protractors

Module 2 Polygons & Symmetry

Session 1 Introducing Parallel & Perpendicular Lines

Session 2 Parallels, Perpendiculars & Angles

Session 3 Line Symmetry

Session 4 Polygon Detectives

Session 5 Polygon Riddles

Session 6 Polygon Bingo

Module 3

Area & Perimeter

Session 1 Measuring Area

Session 2 Measuring Perimeter

Session 3 Area & Perimeter Formulas

Session 4 Hexarights

Module 4

Angles in Motion

Session 1 Human Angles

Session 2 Geometry Measurement Problems

Session 3 Geometry Measurement Problems Forum

Session 4 Unit 5 Post-Assessment

Feb. 18-23

A Look Ahead:

Mon 2/18 - No School (President's Day)

Thurs 2/21 - Spring Picture Day

Thursday, February 28--Panther-PALOOZA!

Friday, March 1--NO SCHOOL--Institute Day

Friday, March 1--End of 2nd Trimester

We had a nice Valentine's Day Party!  

Valentine Box Challenge!

Thanks to all of our Valentine Volunteers!!!  See more  pictures and videos at this link:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9BdZfFiUK4iYszAS8


Congrats to our January PRIDE Winner-Determination!

Nice job, Emma!

Spelling-Unit 20
We will be discussing and studying homographs.  The test will be on Friday!


Reading - Unit 2 - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
I often mention how we work on close reading in class. I wanted to share with you an example of what it looks like to close read a text passage. Below is a photo of an excerpt from The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane that the class close read and annotated together. As we reread the passage, we noted unknown vocabulary, important details, and connections to achieve a deeper understanding of the text.




Social Studies - Bountiful Midwest Farms
The crops of the Central and Great Plains will be our focus this week. Be sure to ask your child why certain crops grow better in one area than another and about why farmers use crop rotation.


Science - Energy Conversions
We will continue to work on redesigning wind turbines.  They need to follow a certain criteria to pass.


Mrs. Spakausky and Mr. Kowalsky's Math Class-Unit 5-Geometry and Measurement
Module 1
Measuring Angles
Session 1 Unit 5 Pre-Assessment
Session 2 Introducing Angles
Session 3 Benchmark Angles
Session 4 Angle Puzzles
Session 5 Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland
Session 6 From Pattern Blocks to Protractors

MOVING on to Module 2 this week:

Module 2 Polygons & Symmetry
Session 1 Introducing Parallel & Perpendicular Lines
Session 2 Parallels, Perpendiculars & Angles
Session 3 Line Symmetry
Session 4 Polygon Detectives
Session 5 Polygon Riddles
Session 6 Polygon Bingo

Module 3
Area & Perimeter
Session 1 Measuring Area
Session 2 Measuring Perimeter
Session 3 Area & Perimeter Formulas
Session 4 Hexarights

Module 4
Angles in Motion
Session 1 Human Angles
Session 2 Geometry Measurement Problems
Session 3 Geometry Measurement Problems Forum
Session 4 Unit 5 Post-Assessment

Feb.11-15

The Valentine Holder Challenge is due on Wednesday!  Bring Valentine cards in on Thursday!

A Look Ahead:

Tues, 2/12-Board of Education Meeting at Prairieview School-7:00pm
Thurs 2/14 - Valentine's Classroom Parties 1:30-2:15pm

Fri 2/15 - No School (Parent/Teacher Conferences)

Mon 2/18 - No School (President's Day)

Thurs 2/21 - Spring Picture Day

Thursday, February 28--Panther-PALOOZA!

Friday, March 1--NO SCHOOL--Institute Day

Friday, March 1--End of 2nd Trimester

Spelling - Unit 19
We will be working on the Greek and Latin roots of uni-, bi-, tri-, and quad-.  There are only 10 words and 10 vocab words, some coincide with each other.  Our test will be Thursday, February 14 because of no school on Friday, February 15.

Reading- Unit 2 - "Journeys"
We will begin reading the novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. This story tells the tale of a china rabbit who goes on an adventure and learns how to love. We will begin by close reading an excerpt from the first chapter. This novel is rich in vocabulary and underlying themes, and I look forward to sharing Edward's journey in our classroom.

During our work with the story Grandfather's Journey, students worked in small groups to find ways that the author Allen Say and his grandfather were similar. They had to support their ideas with text proof.

Social Studies - The Badlands of South Dakota
We will conclude our study of the Badlands this week. Next up will be the farmlands of the Midwest.

Science - Energy Conversions
We will conclude a look at how engineers work and move on to a study of how to design a wind turbine.  The students will use criteria to build and design and then redesign their wind turbines.  They will go through a "design cycle" with their creation.  In the cycle we will talk about Learning, Planning, Designing and Testing.  Below are pictures of our groups building their wind turbines.

Mrs. Spakausky's Math Class-Unit 5
We took the Unit 4 test last week and now we are moving on to Unit 5: Geometry & Measurement
In Module 1, we will be studying:
Measuring Angles
Session 1 Unit 5 Pre-Assessment
Session 2 Introducing Angles
Session 3 Benchmark Angles
Session 4 Angle Puzzles
Session 5 Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland
Session 6 From Pattern Blocks to Protractors

Feb. 4-8

A Look Ahead:

Tues, 2/12-Board of Education Meeting at Prairieview School-7:00pm
Thurs 2/14 - Valentine's Classroom Parties 1:30-2:15pm

Fri 2/15 - No School (Parent/Teacher Conferences)

Mon 2/18 - No School (President's Day)

Thurs 2/21 - Spring Picture Day


Spelling -  Unit 18 - "ch" & "tch"
Words this week will contain the letters "ch" or "tch". Students will learn that if the final "ch" sound comes after a consonant or a two-letter vowel, the ending is -ch. If the final "ch" sound follows a one letter vowel, it's usually written -tch. The final TEST is scheduled for Friday, 2/8.

Reading - "Journeys"
We will finish our study of the story Grandfather's Journey. After completing some comprehension work, we will write a paragraph that uses text proof to compare the author to his grandfather and use that information to conclude how their similarities helped the author to feel close to his grandfather.


English - Explanatory Writing
We will begin our study of explanatory writing with a look at "hooks". Students will learn about different types of hooks and look for examples of hooks in literature. I will model how to write an original hook while writing a "whole class" essay on why Lou Gehrig is considered a hero. Students will then begin writing their own explanatory essay about who is a hero in his/her life.


Social Studies - Chapter 8/Lesson 2 - "The Badlands"
Our focus in Social Studies will be on the geography of the Midwest. We will study how the Badlands were formed and also brush up on our map skills.


Science - "Energy Conversions"
As we continue to search for a solution to the blackout in Ergstown, we will focus on how engineers solve problems in the real world.

Mrs. Spakausky and Mr. Kowalsky's- Math Class -Unit Four Addition and Subtraction

Module 3-Measurement

Session 1 Measurement

 Session 2 Distance Challenge  

Session 3 It’s About Time 

 Session 4 Liquid Volume

 Session 5 Mass Amounts

Module 4-Measurement and Data Displays

Session 1 Measuring Hand Spans & Arm Spans

Session 2 Looking at Data Displays

Session 3 Unit 4 Post-Assessment

Unit 4 test will probably be at the end of this week or beginning of next week.