Week of May 18-22, 2009

Reminders for this week:

• Parent teacher conference APPOINTMENT CONFIRMATIONS went home on Tuesday. Based on the forms I received, everyone has been scheduled during their first choice.
• Sandwich order forms are due no later than Wednesday May 20, 2009. Please consider buying a sandwich or two and help support Miss Bertschi's future mission work in Germany! Thank you in advance for your support!

Wednesday 5/20/09

• Math 3: Today we learned how to plot points on a coordinate plane. We learned about coordinates and reviewed positive and negative numbers. Most students came close to finishing the A paper today but did not complete it. Homework: 129 A and B.
• Language Arts 3: We journaled, practiced writing our spelling words in cursive, and reviewed adverbs and adjectives. Remember, an adverb answers the questions how? when? where? while an adjective answers the questions which one? how many? what kind? Homework: Spelling sentences written in cursive.
• Language Arts 4: We journaled, then used the rest of class time to read our book report novels. Homework: Spelling sentences written in cursive.
• Science 3/4: We continued discussing infectious diseases and learned about some of the body's natural defenses against disease. Unfortunately many students had a hard time staying on task and following directions during today's lesson, so we did not get through the reading and is has been assigned for homework. Typically I would not assign as homework somethign that we didn't have time for, but the students chose to waste class time therefore the consequence is to do the reading alone for homework tonight rather than together with the class and myself. Homework: Read pages 150-155.
• We also used afternoon time to finish up practicing the recorder song and our class verse for the final assembly, which will take place this Friday at 10:30 a.m. Please make plans to attend, it will be a very special time for students and teachers alike.

Tuesday 5/19/09

• Math 3: This morning we went back to the number line and reviewed positive and negative numbers. We also learned how to add negative numbers and drew pictures to match these new number sentences on the number line. Most finished 128A in class. Homework: 128 B.
• Language Arts 3: Third graders are becoming pros at classifying parts of the sentence - so far they have been able to find the subject (noun), verb, and adverb, and today we added adjectives. Hopefully the jingles and question/answer flows we've been learning are helping to solidify these concepts! There will be a quiz over these four parts of speech later this week. Homework: Spelling words written 3x in cursive.
• Language Arts 4: Fourth graders are now finished with their literature books and have begun reading a novel of their choice set in the 1700 or 1800s, to coincide with our recent studies on pioneer life, colonialism, and early America. The novels are historical fiction, which involve actual people, places, and events in history but are surrounded by the author's added storyline. Over the last two weeks of class, fourth graders will prepare and present a book report on their novel. Time will be given in class each day to read and eventually work on reports but this project most likely will require some work to be done at home. Homework: Spelling words written 3x in cursive.
• Religion 3/4:
• Science 3/4: We learned specifically about infectious diseases today. We learned new vocabulary and the different between a virus and bacteria, and we found out what a pathogen is.
• PE 3/4: Kickball with Mr. Bretscher.

Monday 5/18/09

• Math 3: Today we worked on finding distances between cities on a map using map scale. This is not a new concept, in fact we began doing this months ago in social studies! Some students are still struggling with measuring to the quarter inch, which in turn makes using the map scale very difficult. Please practice measuring small distances with your child and review writing mixed numbers. Two students finished all of their work, A and B, in class today. Homework: finish the map, 127A and B.
• Language Arts 3: We journaled, took spelling pre-test #33, and then reviewed subject noun, verb, and adverb. Homework: Spelling words written in ABC order using cursive.
• Language Arts 4: We journaled, took spelling pre-test #33, and then finished reading "The Fighting Ground", the last story in our literature book! Homework: Spelling words in ABC order using NEAT cursive.
• Religion 3/4: First half of memory work on page 241 (up to the word "God").
• Science 3/4: With all the new information about swine flu or H1N1 going around, it seemed appropriate for us to address this area in our studies. For the next two weeks we will be learning about guarding against diseases, the difference between infectious and noninfectious, and specific ways the body fights disease. It is sure to be an interesting study and will hopefully keep students captivated during these last few days of school. We will conclude the unit next Friday by taking a test and watching a Magic School Bus video about the immune system.
• We also used afternoon time to work on our recorder song and class verse for the final assembly, which will take place this Friday!