Happy Friday Families!

I hope everyone is staying warm during this early November cold!  But as we deal with the weather, our students continue to work hard, wrapping up the grading period.

Here's What's Happening in Class:

Literacy

We just wrapped up our story whole-class reading book,  The Road to Freedom.  It was narrated from the point of view of a young girl who traveled on the Underground Railroad with her mother in hopes of making it North to freedom. We had many valuable discussions related to topics raised within the story. We have been also been reading many nonfiction articles as well, in order to practice finding the author's main point, reasons for the main point, and evidence to support the reasons.

Writing

Our students finished their first analytical paper and will be sharing them with their classmates.  The topic was whether or not students should be allowed to bring and use cellphones during the school day.  Their focus was to write engaging introductory and concluding paragraphs, as well as working to add evidence to support their key ideas.  They made quite compelling arguments!

Math

Our students are continuing their work with decimals.  They are currently refining their skills in the area of using expanded decimal notation, comparing decimals, adding and subtracting decimals, and rounding decimals. For those students who had not reached mastery level on our previous fractions targets, I have been meeting with them in order to practice those skills individually or within small groups.

Social Studies

We are wrapping up our discussions about the various responsibilities and powers of different types of governments.  Our discussions continue to revolve around the pros and cons of democracy, a parliamentary government, a monarchy, and a dictatorship.  Of the four governments, students are working to decide which government uses their powers and responsibilities for the benefit of its citizens. On Monday, the students will be creating posters to reflect the research they've been doing. Please make sure your student comes prepared to class on Monday with one or two plain sheets of paper (white printer paper is fine!)

Science

After our cycle with Social studies, next week we will return to learning about earth systems in science. The unit discusses the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. In addition to learning about their attributes and characteristics, we are also identifying interactions that occur between the systems. Our most recent investigation involved creating a clay model of the Earth, showing each Earth's system. 

Upcoming Events

**Wednesday, November 25-Friday, November 27: No School - Thanksgiving Break

**Friday, December 17th - Start of Winter Break

Friendly Reminders

** Please remind your student to turn his or her camera on during class.  This will help your child to stay engaged at the same level they would be during in-person instruction.

** If your child is experiencing issues with his or her iPad, please email our district tech department at elearningsupport@d96.zendesk.com.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.  Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!