A Sneak Peek at our SECOND TO LAST Week!

Reading: This is the final week students will hold literature circles.  As a teacher, it has truly been a joy observing and listening to their conversations.  Their discussions have shown deep comprehension, strong analysis, and enjoyment of the texts they are reading!

Writing:  Based on their social studies research comparing Chicago to other U.S. cities, students will write four compare/contrast paragraphs (2 similarities and 2 differences) demonstrating their learning.  They will be posting their writing to their blogs this week!

Math:  Unit 12 will not be instructed this year.  After conferring with the 4th/5th grade math teacher, knowledge of rates is not needed until sixth grade math.  I feel it would be more beneficial for students to review challenging concepts found in the fourth grade math curriculum.  Therefore, students will review the following math concepts this week:

• Multiplying and dividing decimals
• Adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators 
• "Fraction of" and "percent of" problems

Science:  After discovering how animals were classified last week, students will learn about the physical characteristics, behavioral characteristics, and adaptations of animals for the remainder of this week.