Monthly Happenings
November 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!


  
               Subject
 What We Will Be Learning This Month
Math     
In math we will be studying the following concepts this month:

We will finish up Unit 4 at the start of the month. In Unit 4 we will study:
  • Math 4.4 Estimating with Decimals. We will use our skill of rounding to solve decimal problems.
  • Math 4.5 Decimal Addition and Subtraction. We will add and subtract using decimals.
  • Math 4.6 Decimals in Money.  We will study how decimals are important when buying items, as well as balancing a checkbook.
  • Math 4.7 Thousandths.  We will study decimals to the thousandths place.
  • Math 4.8 Metric Units of Length.  Students will study the different units of length and apply them to their everyday life.
We will also begin to study Unit 5 towards the end of the month.  Some of the concepts we will cover:
  • Math 5.3 Estimating Sums. Students will learn how to make estimates and apply them to their everyday life.
  • Math 5.4 Estimating Products.  Students will use food survey data to estimate products.
  • Math 5.5 Partial Products.  Students will use thos method to practice multiplying numbers.

 Otter Creek:  Students will be completing their lettered timing each day.  If they don't pass, they are to complete the top half of the sheet for homework.

Students should also be studying the fact families that they have not yet passed.
Reading

We will reading our owl novels:  
  • Poppy
  • Toad for Tuesday
  • There's an Owl in the Shower
  • Owls in the Family

 Each day the students will have a reading assignment for their book.  As the students are reading they will be thinking of a discussion question to ask their group the next day.

They will also write a response to show their thinking about the reading assignment for that day.

We will also be working on Reader's Theater using our owl novels. During our reader's theater the students will practice reading with fluency, and using actions to show what the characters are saying.

We will begin to work on writing extended responses focusing on the steps of recyclying the question, as well as finding evidence to support one's answer.

We will use stories like The Three Little Pigs.  Then the students will be given a question for another story and they will work at finidng evidence to find that answer.

Towards the end of the month, the students will be doing reader's theater plays.

 
Writing This month we will focus on:
  • Paragraph Structure.  The students will learn about the components of a paragraph and what qualities make a good paragraph.

The students will be writing a paragraph about the owl that they have chosen.  They will use their research, as well as notes that they take in the computer lab.

During this assignment they will learn how to:
  • Take notes and place them into a graphic organizer.
  • Use show not tell to describe their owl.
  • Insert the proper transitions in a paper so that the paper flows smoothly.
  • Organize the ideas from our graphic organizer to produce a well written piece.

In grammar, we will be studying:
  • Singular/plural possessive nouns
  • Present/past tense of verbs
  • Adjectives
  • Interjections
  • The use of commas in writing.
Social  Studies We will begin our study of the middle west. During our middle west we will discuss:
  • How the landforms(geography) affect the economy.
  • The resources that the middle west has and the ways that the region uses them.
  • How the Great Plains and the Central Plain are different, as well the crops that they produce.
  • How rivers allow goods to be imported and exported.
  • How the middle west became a manufacturing center.
  • How geography affected the settlement of Illinois.
Science
We will also continue to work on science each Friday in preparation for Dr. Lightyear  This month we will:
  • Phases of Matter
  • Forces: Friction and Gravity
  • Simple Machines


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