Greetings,

This blog is meant to keep you informed of things that are happening in the classroom. I post here about once a month and I do send out an email every time a new post is available. I will be disabling comments on this blog. If you have a question or concern please email me at my school email address.

Math:

We have just finished our unit on fractions. We are starting a new unit on addition and subtraction with decimals. You can access the same workbook that we use in class at home by following the directions below. The lessons for this unit all start with a 2 in their math workbook. (ex. 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)

1. Go to http://www-k6.thinkcentral.com
2. Select MA for State
3. Select "State Operated School" for District
4. Select our school.
5. Enter the first three letters of your child's first name and their entire last name with no spaces for username
6. Enter "thinkmath" for password.
7. Click Login
8. Under "my library" look for the math workbook. There are also some games under "My Library" that they can play for extra practice.

ELA: Literature Circles & Word Meanings

The entire class is currently reading the book Frindle in small literature circle groups. As a class, we have been learning the different literature circle jobs and practicing them so that they can be independent with these jobs. This month, we worked on how to make text to self, text to text, and text to world connections. We will complete Frindle two weeks from now, and students will then be able to choose from either Island of the Blue Dolphins, or the Sign of the Beaver for their next literature circle group.

As a class, we also have spent time learning about how to figure out the meaning of a word by using context clues, prefixes, suffixes, and root words. In addition, we have been reviewing what we know about nouns and are about to move on to adjectives.

For more information about where we are headed, please review the scope and sequence on the schools main webpage. You can find the scope and sequence at http://bfccps.org/classical-education/scope-sequences/.

Social Studies

We have just finished learning about ancient civilizations. We are about to begin reviewing the different regions of the US and studying the Native Americans. We will not have a test on this unit because the Social Studies Fair counts as a test grade and is directly related to this unit. We will begin working on the Social Studies Fair very soon, and every student will be assigned a tribe for their projects and given explicit instructions on what they need to do. I will also be setting up a separate blog with due dates to keep everyone informed of the timeline for this project.

Our hardcover Social Studies book is online. You can access it by following the directions below. I will be showing students how to access the online S.S. book sometime next week.

1. Go to http://www.eharcourtschool.com/

2. Username: HHumanities

3. Password: f4w3

Empower Brain Frame Spotlight

This is an example of the sequencing frame that I have been asking the students to use for Frindle. It is part of the EmPower program of writing that grades 6-8 also use.