And Another Month Ends

Believe it or not we already facing the end of another month. It has been a productive month full of writing, history, math, spelling, and public speaking. We have dug trenches, learned about major battles of WWI, given reports about major metropolitan areas, and come ever closer to our Night of the Notable presentations.

This week we will learn about aerial warfare, tank warfare, and submarine warfare. As we read Leviathan, we will continue to work on our compare and contrast skills. We will finish our key word outlines and begin our rough drafts. Spelling will continue with 6 new words each night. During guided reading groups, we will focus on identifying the main idea from increasing complex passages. Our next math assessment is Monday with lessons 31 - 34 being taught Tuesday through Thursday.

This week we will not under any circumstances bring Halloween candy to school!

You can enhance your student's learning at home by:
1. Talk about your student's Night of the Notable character. The more they talk about it, the more complete their writing will be. Simply letting them tell what they know over dinner will help them form their thoughts, discover gaps in their information, and build excitement. Once they have a solid handle on the "facts", start asking about their opinion. The analysis of their character's "worth" will be the last page of the essay and is always the hardest. This is where students must justify why the person is notable. Start talking about it now so they can justify it on paper next week.
2. Watch Seargent York. This 1941 biographical film received numerous Academy Awards and tells the story of the most decorated WWI veteran.

Even as we end one month, we embrace the beginning of November!

November 2 - Conference Day
November 4 - Daylight Savings Time Ends
November 6 - Election Day
November 6 - Optional Souvenir Workshop (3:45 - 5:00)
November 8 - Sock Hop (3:45 - 4:30)
November 9 - Field Trip (Chaperones Needed!)
November 12 - Veteran's Day (No School)
November 14 - Picture Retakes
November 20 - Night of the Notables (6:00 - 8:00)