A Peek at Next Week

ELA

Reading- Students have begun reading their novels:  Touching Spirit Bear; Bud, Not Buddy; and Crash.  They will meet next week in small groups to discuss their books.
Language Arts- We will continue to revise our narrative, and making sure our stories follow a story arc.

Word Work- Students will work with List 4 word-parts:  aud, cardio, de, duct, hydro, and quad.

Science-  Students will take their Unit 1 test over the Patterns of the Earth and Sky on Tuesday.

Social Studies- Students will continue to work on a project from their Chapter 5 choice board in Google Classroom.

Math-  Students will take their Chapter 2 test on adding and subtracting fractions on Thursday.

Important Days:
Monday- Band/Choir Concert
Wednesday- Bowling Trip

A Look at this Week!

ELA

Reading- We will be going over different Literature Circle roles that students will soon be doing independently.  We will also be comparing and contrasting story elements such as characters and setting.  
Language Arts- We will begin revising our narrative, and making sure our stories follow a story arc.

Word Work- Students will begin Word Work List 4:  aud, cardio, de, duct, hydro, and quad.

Science-  We will continue to investigate why we see different stars at different times of the year.

Social Studies- Students will continue to work on a project from their Chapter 5 choice board in Google Classroom.

Math-  Students will be problem solving using ratio tables, and adding and subtracting mixed numbers.

Important Days:
Tuesday- Early Dismissal at 11:00
Thursday- Field Trip to the Tivoli Theater
Friday- Movie Night

A Peek at this Week

Empathy Bingo

ELA

Reading- We will be going over the parts of a short story, and themes.
Language Arts- We will begin brainstorming "small moments" for our narrative.

Word Work- Students will finish Word Work List 2:  alter, anti, bio, geo, ology, and script.

Science-  We will continue to study our first unit, "Patterns of Earth and Sky."  Students will be looking for patterns in the night sky, and on creating models.

Social Studies- Students will begin Chapter 5 "The Struggle to Found Colonies."  They will read and take web-notes on Lesson 5.1 " Hard Times in Virginia."

Math-  We will continue to review our different multiplication strategies for multiplying multi-digit numbers:  Over & Under strategy, Double and Halving Strategy, Five is half of Ten, and Partial Product.  We will being using our multiplication strategies to help us solve division problems, and will be focused on interpreting our remainders.

Important Days:
Thursday- Picture Retakes

Have a wonderful week!!!

A Peek at this Week

Grammar Review Stations

 ELA

Reading- We will review figurative language, focusing on metaphors and similes.
Language Arts- We will finish our grammar review stations and then begin narrative writing.

Word Work- Students will take their Word Work List 1 assessment on Wednesday.

Science-  We will continue to study our first unit, "Patterns of Earth and Sky."  Students will be reviewing our vocabulary from this chapter, and we will discuss how to write a Scientific Explanation.

Social Studies- Students will take a Chapter 4 test on Tuesday.  Then we will preview Chapter 5 "The Struggle to Found Colonies."

Math-  We will be reviewing how to write expressions, and solve volume problems.  We will also be learning different multiplication strategies for multiplying multi-digit numbers.

Important Days:
Tuesday- Chalk-tober Fest

Have a wonderful week!!!

A Peek at Next Week

Columbian Exchange Presentations

A Look at Next Week:

 ELA

Reading- We will practice annotating a text while doing a close-read.
Language Arts- We will continue to build our writing stamina in our Writer's Notebook.  

Word Work- We will continue to work with our Unit 1 word parts:  aqua, bio, man, phon, pre, and uni.

Science-  We will continue to study our first unit, "Patterns of Earth and Sky."  Students will investigate the size and distance of stars using their online simulations.  We will be discussing that although there are stars all around us, we cannot always see them.

Social Studies- We will finish discussing Lesson 4.2, and will read Lesson 4.3 "Life in New Spain."

Math-  We will continue to learn about volume.  We will be looking at rectangular prisms and noticing how although there can be many prisms with different dimensions, they can have the same volume.

Important Days:
Tuesday- Magazine Turn-in Day
Friday- Movie Night

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

A Peek at Next Week

Math Stations

A Look at Next Week:

 ELA

Reading- We will continue to review drawing inferences, author's purpose, and creating questions as we read.
Language Arts- We will continue to build our writing stamina in our Writer's Notebook.  

Word Work- We will continue to work with our Unit 1 word parts:  aqua, bio, man, phon, pre, and uni.

Science-  We will continue to study our first unit, "Patterns of Earth and Sky".  Students will investigate the distances between stars, and the different sizes of stars, use their online simulations.

Social Studies- We will present our slides on the Columbian Exchange, and read Lesson 4.2 "Different Worlds Collide". 

Math-  We will be learning about volume.  We will be looking at rectangular prisms and noticing how although there can be many prisms with different dimensions, they can have the same volume.

Important Days:
Tuesday- Magazine Turn-in Day

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

A Peek at This Week

Soft Start

A Look at This Week:

 ELA

Reading- We will be reviewing visualization and how to draw inferences as we read.
Language Arts- We will continue to build our writing stamina in our Writer's Notebook.  

Word Work- We will begin our first unit in Word Work.  Unit 1 word parts are:  aqua, bio, man, phon, pre, and uni.

Science-  We will begin our first unit, "Patterns of Earth and Sky".  Students will continue to investigate and answer our unit question:  Why do we see different stars at different times?  Students will get to investigate our online simulation of the night sky.

Social Studies- We will continue to discuss Lesson 4.1 "The Voyages of Columbus."  Students will be making a short PowerPoint presentation on the Columbian Exchange.

Math-  We will be reviewing multiples, factors, products, and the Order of Operation.  

Important Days:
Tuesday- Picture Day
Wednesday- MAPs Testing
Thursday- MAPs Testing

Have a wonderful week!!!

Welcome Back!

Mrs. Mastny's Class of Little Einsteins

Welcome to a new school year!  I hope everyone is finally settling in.  Thank you for a wonderful first week of school!

A Look at This Week:

 ELA

Reading- We will continue to learn our classroom routines and expectations, as well as differentiating between the main idea (gist) and a summary.  We will practice summarizing both fiction and non-fiction texts using a graphic organizer, that asks the 6 main questions:  Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?  

Language Arts- We will continue to build our writing stamina in our Writer's Notebook.  

Science-  We will begin our first unit, "Patterns of Earth and Sky".  Students will investigate and answer our unit question:  Why do we see different stars at different times?

Social Studies- We will begin our first unit of study with the Early Americans, and how Columbus "discovered" America.

Math-  We will be reviewing rounding rules, and place value up to the millions.  

Important Days:
Monday- No School, Labor Day
Wednesday- Curriculum Night 6:30-8:00PM

Have a wonderful week!!!

A Peek at this Week

                                      Social Studies Chapter 9 Breakout

ELA

Reading/Language Arts- Students will continue to identify and analyze idioms, adages, and proverbs.  They will also be reading "Katie's Trunk," which shows the Loyalists' point of view at the beginning of the American Revolution.

Word Work- Students will continue to work on List 8 words:  dic, metri/meter, poly, sub, tele, and un.

Science-  We will continue Chapter 3, "Why do Salad-dressing Ingredients separate again after being mixed?"

Social Studies- We will begin Chapter 10, "Forming a New Government."  Students will be reading Lesson 1, "A Weak Government."  We will be reading about the Articles of Confederation, the Federalists Papers, Shay's Rebellion, and the challenges our brand new country faced now that it was its own independent country.

Math-  Students will be practicing the standard algorithm of multiplication.  

Important Days

Thursday- 1:00 Too Good For Drugs Graduation 

Friday- Early Dismissal

Have a great week!

A Peek at this Week

A Look at this Week:

 ELA

Reading/Language Arts- Students are identifying and analyzing idioms, adages, and proverbs.  They are also comparing "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to the story, And Then What Happened Paul Revere?  Students will also be reciting stanzas from Longfellow's poem on Thursday and Friday.  
Word Work- Students will continue to work on List 8 words:  dic, metri/meter, poly, sub, tele, and un.

Science-  We will continue Chapter 3, "Why do Salad-dressing Ingredients separate again after being mixed?"

Social Studies- We will finish Chapter 9, "The Revolutionary War," and take a test on Friday.

Math-  Students will be learning how to multiply using an array.  Then they will see how the array matches up to the standard algorithm.  

Important Days

Monday- Reading MAPs Testing

Wednesday- Choir Field Trip
Thursday- Math MAPs Test 
Friday- Family Fitness Event

Have a great week!

A Peek at this Week

A Look at this Week:

 ELA

Reading/Language Arts- Students will begin writing their magazine articles about their natural disaster. 
Word Work- Students continue to work with List 7 word parts:  hypo, hyper, im/in, milli, fore, and rupt.  We will continue to work on context clues and word etymology in Reading WIN.

Science-  We will begin Unit 2, Chapter 2, "Why do some salad dressings have sediments, and others do not?"  We will start Lesson 2.1 "Investigating Flavor Ingredients."  We will be discussing how some substances dissolve and others do not, and why that occurs.

Social Studies- We will begin Chapter 9, "The Revolutionary War."

Math-  Students will be taking the Illinois Assessment of Readiness Math tests.

Important Days

Monday- Oak Trace Nursing Home Field Trip

Wednesday- IAR Math Test 1
Thursday- IAR Math Test 2
Friday- IAR Math Test 3

Have a great week!

A Peek at Next Week

A Look at next Week:

 ELA

Reading/Language Arts- Students will record their newscast about their natural disaster with Screencastify, and we will watch them as a class. 
Word Work- Students continue to work with List 7 word parts:  hypo, hyper, im/in, milli, fore, and rupt.  We will continue to work on context clues and word etymology in Reading WIN.

Science-  We will finish Unit 2, Chapter 1.  Students will will use their knowledge of molecules and models to write a scientific explanation about why the food coloring in the chromatography test separated into different dyes.  

Social Studies- We are discussing Chapter 8, "The Road to War," and will take a test on Friday.

Math-  Students are finished with Unit 3 and will take a Unit 3 test over place value and decimals on Thursday.

Important Days

Monday- Roller Skating Party 3:30-6:30

Wednesday- Names of volunteering chaperones, and the Oak Trace Nursing Home field trip permission slip is due.
Friday- Kids Heart Challenge During PE Classes

Have a great weekend!

Peek at this Week

A Look at this Week:

 ELA

Reading/Language Arts- We will begin reading the Eight Days of Haiti, and will be focusing on the different perspective and point of view of the main character.

Word Work- Students continue to work with List 6 word parts:  arch, cent, graph, loc, ped/pod, re.

Science-  We will read about the properties of molecules in a book called, "Break it Down" in Lesson 1.7.  Then we will continue on to Lesson 1.8, "Evaluating Chromatography Models."  

Social Studies- We will finish discussing and taking notes on Lesson 8.2 "The Colonists Rebel."  We will be learning about the Boston Massacre, Committee of Correspondence, the Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts.  

Math-  Students will to learn strategies for adding and subtracting decimals in Problem Strings.  We will also be comparing decimals, and rounding decimals.

Important Days
Wednesday- CogAT Testing
Thursday- CogAT Testing
Friday- CogAT Testing

Have a great weekend!

A Peek at Next Week

Chromatography Investigation in Science

Valentine's Day Breakout

A Look at next Week:

We will be starting our Too Good For Drugs ten week program.  On Thursday afternoons we will have a police officer from the sheriff's department come in and talk to the kids about peer pressure and making good choices.  The kids really enjoy this time, and it is a great program!

 ELA

Reading/Language Arts- We will finish up our first round of research.  Students will publish their first piece of informational text on natural disasters.  We will also continue to review and compare different text structures.

Word Work- Students have begun to work with List 6 word parts:  arch, cent, graph, loc, ped/pod, re.

Science-  We will begin Lesson 1.5 "Exploring Another Model of Chromatography."  We will continue to learn about the different properties of molecules.

Social Studies- We will begin Chapter 8 "The Road to Revolution."  We will be reading about the Stamp Act, and Townshend Act.  

Math-  Students will be beginning Unit 3, Lesson 1, "Whole Number and Decimal Place Value."  We have gone over the "Give and Take" strategy for adding and subtracting decimals in Problem Strings this past week, and next week we will be looking at how a decimal point moves when you multiply or divide by ten.

Important Days
Monday- No School
Thursday- Spring Picture Day

Have a great weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Valentine's Day Party