1/7-1/11 see IMPORTANT DATES for testing info!

HOORAY! We made it through a full week!!! It has been a long time since that happened.

Thank you for your patience in lack of weekly behavior communicators. With the short snow week, winter party week, and our short week after return– this is the first week behavior communicators have come home in a while! Please know that this is our doing, not the kids! If you happen to have that behavior communicator at home from the last time it came home, please send it in on Monday. Students NEED this behavior communicator to earn access to the PAW Behavior Incentive Party on January 25th! This is their proof that they are responsible for their materials and that they have had an awesome quarter! Our PAW Achievement party is going to be a fun one! Look for more details next week!

FOURTH:
In Reading,  students learned about reading strategies that readers can use to help better understand a story. Our class read a few poems and non-fiction passages. We learned a lot about poetry including important vocabulary (stanza, line, rhyme, rhyme scheme, alliteration) and how poetry is different than normal writing (prose). We looked at some poems and analyzed what they were about using some new strategies we discussed. We broke the poem down into stanzas and summarized what each part was about. We talked about how this helps us summarize the entire thing. Try this strategy next time you are reading at home.

In Virginia Studies we wrapped up VS4 where students focused on slavery, agriculture, how culture reflects origins and affects things, why the capital moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg before finally landing in Richmond and the economy in the colonies! We also focused on what everyday life in the colony was like. We started our new unit this week which will bring us up to the causes leading up to the American Revolution!

FIFTH:
We spent this week reviewing the importance of understanding author’s choices when reading. Authors must make many decisions when creating a piece of writing, including why to write (purpose), what to include (elements), what to write (form and genre), and how to say it (word choice). We analyzed characters in stories that we read and how their thoughts, actions, and dialogue help us to understand them as a whole.

In social studies we continued our study of the southeast. During writing, we are incorporating this focus by writing a narrative story that takes place in a major city in the southeast. Students have to use details from their research to describe the setting and help their story come to life with vivid details about where they are and what they are doing. We are also going to wrap up by completing projects about each state.

NEXT WEEK:
4th Reading: We will continue looking at nonfiction text and focus on comprehension strategies and how students can monitor their comprehension when reading. Our class will read various  texts to make connections and check their comprehension.
4th VA Studies:
We will continue our study of the causes of the American Revolution by focusing on all those TAXES King George imposed on the colonists. The students will really start to understand why the colonists shouted, “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION”. We will take a look at major players in the American Revolution and major battles!! Click here for  VS-5 – the study guide to preview/review/study the information.
****Please be aware that Biography Bottle Buddy projects came home last week!! These are due JANUARY 24th! We will also be sending home information for a African American Achievers project that will be due in February. We want to make sure that students have enough time to prepare!

5th Reading: Cumulative review and reading summative
5th SS: Southeast partner writing and independent projects

IMPORTANT DATES:
January 18- Reading Summative PowerTest
January 21- No School: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 24- Biography Bottle Buddy Project due (4th grade)!!
January 25- PAW Achievement Party
January 28- No School for students
January 31 & February 1- 4th Grade Reading Benchmark/5th Grade Math Benchmark
February 5 & 6- Reading Benchmark 5th grade/Math benchmark 4th grade
February 7- Family Life lesson rescheduled
February 8- VA Studies Benchmark for 4th grade/Science Benchmark 5th grade
*African American Achiever Project (4th grade)– more details this week- due mid-February!

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