Reading/ELA Overview:

We will finish up U4.1 this week. Our focus skills have been cause and effect, greek and lating root words, and homophones.Our grammar skills have focused on pronouns and antecedents.

Spelling words for week 15 will be tested this week.

Spelling will occur only when we have a full five-day week. Mondays will always be a pre-test, and homework will be assigned based on the scores of the pre-test. Tuesday through Thursday we will do small activities/lessons in our reading block. Homework will be due on Thursdays. Friday will be the test. Spelling words and homework options can be found on the Reading/ELA page. 

Vocabulary and Grammar Assessments will always fall around the same time as the Reading Assessment, typically the day before. Reading Assessments (Progress Monitoring Assessments or PMAs) are "cold reads," passages the students have not seen before; they test the students on their ability to apply the skills that they have learned throughout the unit. **Students are permitted to use their reading/ELA notebooks as a resource for all assessments, with the exception of vocabulary.**

Math Overview:

We will continute to work with Topic 13 this week.  Topic 13 focuses on converting units of length, mass, and capacity in both customary and metric units. It will also focus on finding area and perimeter of shapes.

Knowing multiplication facts is very important now, as multiplication facts will be used for all upcoming math skills. Please practice multiplication facts at home, or upcoming math skills will become very difficult as they all rely on knowing multiplication facts.

IXLs and Practice Buddies must be at a certain percentage to be considered "completed" as classwork or homework; however, the students should take those scores as high as they can as they become more comfortable with the content. These scores are averaged and entered as grades, and can help boost the students' overall math scores.

There will always be a practice test for homework that we review very carefully the day before the topic assessment. This can be used as a study guide to help prepare for the actual assessment. Students will be permitted (and strongly encouraged) to use their math notebooks as a resource when taking assessments.

Math grades are compiled from formative assignments such as assigned IXLs and Practice Buddies, and summative assignments including fact tests, basic concept quizzes, and the final topic assessment. Homework completion will also play a part in the final grade for the marking period.

Science Overview:

Students will be in Social Studies for the rest of this marking period, and the first half of the last marking period.