Sunday, September 29, 2013

Week of September 30


We survived the busy week of Iowa testing and will be back to a normal schedule this week!  

MATH 

Fourth Grade Math
Students received a graded homework assignment last Thursday. The assignment is due on Tuesday.  We resume the GoMath lessons this week covering Estimating Products, and Multiplication using the Distributive Property, Expanded Notation and Partial Products (Lessons 2.4 - 2.7). Bringing home Student Edition (colorful larger workbooks) will be especially helpful this week as these are very new concepts. There will be a Quiz Friday. Additionally, students will receive a project mid-week that will be due Wednesday, Oct. 9th. I will post instructions for the project on a new "Math Project" Tab on the blog. We continue weekly Multiplication Facts timed practice drills. The expectation is 80 problems in a 3 minute drill. 

Fifth Grade Math 
Students received a graded assignment last Thursday that is due on Tuesday. This week we begin Chapter 2 Division, covering Estimating Quotients, reviewing Division with 1-digit divisors, and learning Division with 2-digit divisors using a method called Partial Quotients (Lessons 2.1 - 2.4).  There will be a Quiz on Friday.  Additionally, students will receive a project midweek due on Wed. October 9th. I will post instructions for the project on a new "Math Project" Tab on the blog. We continue weekly Multiplication Facts timed practice drills.  The expectation is 90 problems in a 3 minute drill.  

Math Help - Office Hours 
Beginning This Week 
Tuesday and Thursday:  7:15am - 7:45
4th Grade Monday:  2:25 - 3:15 
5th Grade Wednesday: 2:25 - 3:15

SCIENCE


Fourth Grade 

Fourth graders will be finding out the difference between mass and density.  We will have a quiz on Lesson 3 on Tuesday, October 1st. 

Fifth Grade  
5th graders are beginning Lesson 3 and learning about weathering, erosion and deposition. 

Reading, Spelling & Vocab Highlights
Reading: We began reading Frindle last week.  We plan to have a Quiz on 
            Chapters 1-4 on Thursday this week, and proceed with Chapters 5-9.
            For each set of Chapters, students are summarizing and learning new
            vocabulary.  The list of vocabulary can be found on the "Reading 
            Websites" Tab above.  Students will read the book in class as both Fifth
            Grade classes are sharing the books.

            We learned we will be seeing the Frindle Play at Tivoli in October, so 
            it's perfect timing! 
     
          
Spelling: Lesson 6 
           Mrs. Hall's students correct workbooks on Thursdays. 
           Mrs. Stillo's students correct workbooks on Fridays.
           The workbooks should be written in cursive. 
           Spelling Test Friday
           Each Friday, students hand in a 5x each assignment written in cursive 
           Reminders:  
               - bonus words are treated as extra points on the test,
               - Pretests signed by parents worth 3 quarterly extra credit points, 
               - "Spelling Expectations" card is taped inside student workbooks 

Vocabulary:   
           Unit 3 Vocabulary test will be Monday, September 30th. 
           Unit 4 - Vocabulary Cards are due Friday. 

 Religion

We begin Chapter 2 this week. This chapter covers communicating with God, stewardship for God's creation and thankfulness.   

Other Fifth Grade News
Remember to Read ---> 4 book reports due October 25th

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email Mrs. Hall at dhall@stjosephdg.org, or, Mrs. Stillo at dstillo@stjosephdg.org.