I hope everyone enjoyed their day off on Monday!  We spent our day working on school projects, grading papers, watching the Inauguration activities on TV, and relaxing.  Next year I hope to put together a Day of Service Activity for my class to participate in to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work and legacy.  This week we will be review his speech and composing our own dreams for how we would like to see our world develop for our children.  Take a peek below to see what else we will be learning this week.

Reading: This week we will be continuing to read our novels and have book discussions in our literature circles.  Each night in addition to their book role sheet they will also be answering an open ended question related to the chapter they are reading.  I am asking that they question be answered using the RASE format.  R= restate the question, A=answer the question, S= support your answer with facts from the chapter, and E=extend your answer to tell how it relates to you, another book you read, or a movie you have seen.  A good answer should be at least 4 sentences long.  This will help to prepare your child for the open ended questions on the NJASK.

Vocabulary: We will be working with words with common roots this week.  The roots we are working with are astra-astro (having to do with space), stel/stell (have a to do with stars), mar/mari (having to do with the sea), and mig/migr (have to do with moving).

Grammar:  This week we will be working with homonyms (words that sound the same but have different meanings).  Specifically we are working with your/you’re and there/their/they’re.

Math: Our exploration into division begins this week.  We will be focusing on reviewing the divisibility rules and the meaning of division.

Writing:   We will continue typing our final drafts to publish our second portfolio pieces.

Social Studies: We will be working with the information sent in from the family interviews to begin our culture projects.  Please don’t worry if you were not able to get very specific information.  As we research our country of origin, we will learn about the customs and compare and contrast them to what we do in our homes.

Science:    This week, we will be taking a break from science to complete our lofty goals in other areas.  Sophie of course will be in and we will continue to care for her and observe her daily.