Spelling: We will be working on pages from a packet. We are back to the regular list of bonus words. The children are working at their own pace to complete the 8 bonus lists.

Reading: We are reading a short novel, George’s Marvelous Medicine. This is a story about a boy who creates a “magic” potion to cure his grandmother of her wicked ways. It is a very funny book, that challenges your imagination.

We are also reading a newspaper seial on Fridays, for discussion purposes. “Shifting Sands”. It takes palce in Europe (Scotland, England and France). It ia about a boy named Jim and his family fleeing the Corsican Ogre - Napoleon in the early 1800’s.

Written Language: We will be working on practicing for the MCAS long composition. We will probably take a couple of days to do it. The normal routine is for the children to do all the writing in one day. We are almost there, but not quite ready for that challenge. WE will work ourselves up to that level and be totally ready when the Long Composition day arrives.

We have to get focused and use our time wisely for our Survivor Stories. Many of us are on day 3 or more and have been typing away. Some of us are still on day 1. WE need to do our best and have a top quality writing piece.

We have one final time slot schedualed for our “Survivor Stories” on Wednesday February 11th form 2:00 to 3:00. A big huge thank you goes out to the moms who have already volunteered to help in this process. We are almost done with our rough drafts. The long process of typing remains.

Math: We will continue with more advanced division and work on figuring basic averages. We are still going to spend some time working through some word problems, two over two multiplication, and I will start going through some sample MCAS math problems every Friday.

All our math concepts, will not be taught in isolation. Everything in math builds on the previous day or concept. That is why it is still imperative to stay focused and participate.

DCR UPDATE: This is an independent math packet that reviews all the concepts and skills we will be using throughout the year. The children should be pacing themselves, 3-5 pages per week. I give them a weekly check on the board and they should be on pages 74 - 104 (book #2) as of Friday 2/13/09. There are 3 packets, one for each term. I decided to give everyone, done with Book 1 or not, a copy of Book 2. Everyone by now should have completed Book 1, and fixed all their errors.

Science: We will spend the next few weeks working with magnets.

Social Studies: We started the SW, by filling in a map. There are only 4 states and capitals in this region. We will spend time this week discussing Abraham Lincoln an dGeorge Washington. We will also discuss some of the great African Americans , who made an impact on our country.

Dates to remember:

Friday February 13th - Red, White, and Pink Day from 2:30 -3:00 in the cafeteria. Don’t forget to bring in your valentine’s prior to the 13th to distribute them in the classroom.

Book Report due March 18th. Everyone should be pacing themselves by doing a little bit each week. I have gone over the expectations 3 times with the class. I will go over them again before and after February vacation.


Thanks, Mr. L.