The Week: 10/27 - 11/1

Halloween is this week!
We will have a short class party on Thursday afternoon.  Please do not send snacks.  They'll get plenty that night!

Conferences
Conference forms went home.  Please find this in your child's backpack and return it!

Challenge of the week.
Here is a pile of paper that I have been grading this weekend.  I notice that many students are turning in incomplete work.  Every paper must be neat, not wrinkled, and with a complete heading.  Please use regular notebook paper for work with a complete heading.  When I have multiple assignments, it is hard to tell which page I am grading unless it is printed on the paper.  Headings must include, in this order:

• Name
• Subject
• Assignment (Exactly as written on the planner)
• Date

On Monday, I will be returning papers to students to fix and turn back in!  Your next progress report may show a lot of missing assignments.  Please find these, check the headings, complete them and turn them back in.

Returned Papers
Graded papers are returned to the student pass-back folders.  When you get your papers, please read my comments and look at the score that you got.  If you did not get a score, please find out why.  Incomplete work needs to be completed and turned back in.  Please save all returned papers in your binder.

Binders and Planners
Binders and planners need to be with students at all times.  Treat them like you would your cell phone.  Do not leave work at home, even if you are still working on it.  Keep everything in your binder so you can get it when you need it.  Binders must be brought in to class every morning and taken home every afternoon.

Tests
Parents must sign and return all tests.  I do this so that you have regular feedback on how your child is doing.  I don't like surprises at conferences.  Signed tests count as an assignment in the grade book.

This Week:

Math:  We will work on visual models for multiplication.  What does a visual model look like?

Reading (Literature):  We will begin Bloom's Taxonomy and learn how to ask and answer higher-level questions.  There will be some pages in your child's General Reference notebook.

Reading (Informational):  Using the Science textbook, we will work on strategies to read informational text, including note-taking skills.

Science:  I am splitting Science into two segments, content and skills.  For content, we will continue learning about animals using the Science textbook and other resources.  For skills, we will begin a study of measurement, and how to make empirical observations- that is, anything you can put a number on.

Writing:  We will write formal letters of recommendation for other students using formal register, and a business letter format.  Each student will get a classroom job and earn a salary.

Social Studies:  With everything else we are learning, Social Studies will be limited to geography studies that is done mostly as homework.

Homework:

Your child should be spending 50 minutes each night on homework.  Each week, there are three homework packets that go home:

• Spelling:  The pre-test from Monday must be attached to receive credit.  Please spend a few minutes each night studying these words.
• Big Idea Science:  Do one page each night.  Answers to questions must be matched with a sentence in the text.  I call this "color matching".  If question #1 is circled in orange, then there should be a sentence in the paragraph underlined in orange that answers the question.
• Geography:  Please write answers in complete sentences.  It's a good practice!

Grades:

Grades are now online.  I'll send home passwords this week.  If you want one right now, e-mail me and I'll send it to you.  http://home.comcast.net/~erich-schneider/grades/

Vocabulary
We completed a vocabulary review in class.  You should be reviewing this at home over the weekend!  Parents, if you have trouble with any of these words or assignments, please let me know!!!  Students may use any resource at their disposal to find meanings for these words.  You should know more than just the dictionary definition!

• cell
• kingdom
• species
• vascular plant
• invertebrate
• vertebrate
• rectangular array
• distributive model

  

  Distributive Model

• adaptation
• herbivore
• carnivore
• omnivore
• consumer