Field Trip to the Marine Education Center and Aquarium: We will be taking our first field trip on Wednesday to learn all about life in the sea. The teachers at MECA will focus on the creatures who live off our shore. They will discuss the special adaptations that various types of fish have that help them meet their needs. Students must wear their Blue Ribbon T-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. They should pack a lunch from home with a drink and snack. We will be eating at the aquarium around 12:00 outside on the picnic tables. I need one parent volunteer who will help watch the students. Any one who would like to join us for lunch is welcome to do so. Children may be signed out after lunch. If you wish to do so, please let me know the day before by writing a note in your child's assignment book so that I can have your child packed up and ready to go for you.
Xtra Math: Please remember to have your child do Xtra Math Monday though Friday. They will get the best results from doing the practice one time per day. If your child missed one day this week, please have him or her do it on Saturday or Sunday so that he or she is getting five days of practice.
The next reading challenge is to get to 150 Reading Counts points by December 14th. Students who meet the challenge will be treated to a pizza party the following Monday. By getting to 150 points by this day, students are on the path to earning the Reading Counts Spend-the-Night party at the end of the school year. Emelia, Noah, Caroline, Alayna, Jonathan, Dhruv, and Kenniyah have already met the second quarter challenge!
Book Report: The students should choose a fantasy chapter book that is third grade or higher (fourth grade or higher if in my reading group). The book must be a Reading Counts book. Students need to finish reading the book by December 14th.
Reading: We will begin The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Look for the parent letter to come home on Monday explaining the requirements for this unit.
Reading with Mrs. Chambers: http://mrscchambers.weebly.com
Reading with Mrs. Slaughter:
http://mrsslaughter.weebly.com
Cursive Handwriting: Students need to work on slowing down to improve neatness. Students need to focus on making sure to close a, o, and d.
Language: We will learn correct verb usage.
Spelling: Please make sure your child leaves the spelling workbook in his/her binder. Students will learn the words in Lesson 14 this week. Students must also know the definitions for the vocabulary words and how to spell the words that are part of the definition. The test will be on Thursday. Under the spelling grade on each test is a grade (S, W, N, or U) for their cursive. You can go to www.spellingcity.com for online practice of the grade level spelling words each week. Just go "Find a List" and then for the teacher type in "Brenda Speir." All the lists for the entire year will appear. Just choose the one for this week.
Writing: Students are working on ways to organize their writing.
Timed Tests: Timed tests will be on Tuesdays this year. For the remainder of this quarter we will focus on subtraction and multiplication. Students will continue to have a subtraction timed test each week. Listed below are the test dates for the multiplication tests and what part of the multiplication table will be covered. Students have 1 minute for 25 problems, 2 minutes for 50 problems, or 4 minutes for 100 problems.
twos table-December 11th
fives table-December 18th
tens table-January 15th
nines table-January 22nd
threes table-January 29th
fours table-February 5th
sixes table-February 12th
sevens table-February 19th
eights table-February 26th
Math: We will cover lessons 4-11 through 4-14. Diagnostic Checkpoint 4C will be on Monday, December 3rd. The Chapter 4 Test will be on December 4th.
Science: We will continue to study Unit A Chapter 2 called "Types of Animals." We will learn about animal needs, cells, traits, and the traits of mammals. Students have a study guide for the Lesson 1-3 Vocabulary Quiz which will be on Monday, December 3rd.
Bible: Proverbs 3: 7-8 "Don't be conceited, sure of your own wisdom. Instead trust the Lord, and turn your back on evil; when you do that, you'll be given renewed health and vitality."