Notices

1
Monthly News from Room 211 Month Ending December
31st
Whats Coming Up
Our Month
Math We will work on several concepts from Unit
7 prior to starting Unit 5. We will learn about
negative numbers, the order of operations,
and the use of parentheses in a number sentence.
Toward the end of January we will start Unit 5.
Unit 5 concentrates on fractions. Science We
will continue to work on the Technology/Engineerin
g Solutions unit. Well start by examining
various tools and materials. Then, well review
the steps of the design/engineering process and
try to create a better bird! Social Studies
This month, well be studying Spanish, French,
English, and Dutch exploration of North America.
In connection with Martin Luther King Day, we
will also be learning about the Montgomery bus
boycott. Language Arts Well be reading tall
tales. Well also be doing short passage
practice for the upcoming ELA MCAS. After
completing our poetry unit, well continue to
work on expository writing. This time, well be
researching European explorers and creating
explorer booklets in technology lab.
This month in Math we have almost completed Unit
4, a division unit. The class worked on dividing
with one and two-digit divisors as well as
dividing decimals. In Science we completed the
Simple Machines portion of the Technology/Engineer
ing Solutions unit. An assessment was given. We
continued the exploration unit in Social Studies.
This month we learned about Vasco da Gama and
Bartolomeu Dias. We also performed a readers
theater about Christopher Columbus. We continued
to learn new strategies to help enhance our
written pieces. This month we worked on endings
and transitions. Weve applied our knowledge of
beginnings, endings, and transitions into our
biography pieces. Right before December break, we
started a poetry unit. We wrote a diamante about
snow and created snow flakes. We also received
letters from our Cottage Street pen pals. Prior
to break, we sent back our responses. Learning
about the elements of plot has been our
concentration in reading. Through several
read-aloud stories, weve examined characters,
setting, rising action, climax, and falling
action. In the story, The Summer My Father Was
Ten, we also saw how a character can change over
time.
Notices

The unit 4 math assessment will be given on
Monday, January 7th. Students need to bring a
copy of their favorite Poem to school by
Thursday, January 10th. Dont forget, the winter
concert is January 10th!
Practicing our pod casts

Mrs. Leary