I apologize for the infrequency of updates the past few weeks, but I am back. As you know, STAAR Writing is next week. We have written, reviewed prompts, discussed what personal narratives and expository writing styles look like, the improtance of planning, rough drafts, revising, editing, the rubrics for writing, and neatness in our final drafts--now it is up to the student to do their part and craft quality pieces that address the prompt they are given. Please talk with your child about making sure they carefully read all directions before they proceed. They will be completely on their own on testing day(s)--no teacher assistance, no referring to classroom charts/posters, and no handouts/previous notes to look at.
And this week, we will also be doing...
Math- We are beginning Unit 9 in Everyday Math this week. Our focus will be decimals, fractions, and percents. We will be looking at real-life situations in which percents are use and naming equivalencies among fractions, decimals, and percents. We will also spend a couple of days learning about/reviewing congruency and symmetry and transformations.
Writing- We will spend this week simply reviewing all of the writing strategies and elements that the students have learned this year. We will also discuss verbally a wide range of prompts they could possibly see on the STAAR test so they feel prepared for anything. Reminder- the STAAR writing test is right around the corner- Tuesday, April 2nd and Wednesday, April 3rd.
Science- We continue on with our Rock, Rattle, and Roll planner. Our focus will be Earth’s composition (crust, mantle, inner/outer core) and plate tectonics and how it affects Earth. Students will learn about convergent and divergent boundaries. We have some fun hands on activities planned to show these plate movements.
Reading- In reading we will take a look at nonfiction text features (diagrams, pictures, captions, headings, index, bold words, footnotes, glossary, etc.) Students need to be familiar with what these are and their purpose in nonfiction texts. We will also work on some reading passages and Weekly Readers.
Social Studies- We continue on with Chapter 8 by learning about the end of the Civil War and slavery as well as the impact of the Civil War on Texas.
