This Week: September 14th - 18th

Literacy:
This week, we will finish Unit 1 of our Benchmark curriculum, and students will take their first Benchmark assessment. To prepare, we will work together to set up a note-taking organizer, read the assessment texts, and identify the GIST/main idea of each text. As we move through the year, these additional supports will gradually decrease as students become more comfortable with the assessment format and work more independently.

Students will also write their first informative essay this week. Over the past three weeks, we have analyzed the components of a strong informative essay and worked together to write one using the same prompt students will see on the assessment. This week, students will independently apply the skills and strategies we have practiced to demonstrate their understanding of informative writing.

Math:
In math, we will continue Unit 1 of Ready Math, which focuses on place value through the hundred thousands, rounding, addition, and subtraction. This week, our primary focus will be exploring and practicing a variety of strategies for subtracting multi-digit numbers. We will also continue strengthening our skills with multi-digit addition, rounding, and comparing numbers.

Science:
We will continue our first science unit: Life Science! Throughout this unit, students will compare and contrast the internal and external structures of plants and animals and explore how these structures help living things survive. This week, we will wrap up our Egg Experiment by making our final observations, analyzing our results, and writing a conclusion. Then, we will begin learning about animal structures and adaptations and how they help animals survive in their environments.