Happy Movie Night - NO homework! Don't forget to fill out your reading calendars for Friday!

Math: We took a formative assessment this morning to clarify our understanding of the Unit Two content thus far. We spent considerable time reviewing each item and discussing how to solve the problems as opposed to simply stating solutions. In addition, we began using a program called "Hands-on Equations." This is a learning system that uses manipulatives, a balance, and a sequence to construct a strong foundation of algebraic concepts, specifically how to isolate variables on one side to determine its value. You'll probably hear the term, "legal moves" periodically over the next couple of months.

Language Arts: We used our background knowledge to develop a list of questions before reading a book about African Savannahs. In addition, we discussed how good readers utilize the table of contents to generate questions that could be answered in the text, too. Both of these strategies are essential to setting a purpose for reading - drawing their attention towards specific content.

Deserts - We read, identified unfamiliar vocabulary (not words we can't pronounce - words we aren't sure what they mean), and discussed what some of these words meant in group.

Forests - We used the table of contents to set our purpose for reading through questioning.

Great Rivers - Our study of the Earth's water continues! Today we independently identified difficult vocabulary terms, and used a variety of strategies (primarily blending our background knowledge, words within the word, and the context) to develop an understanding of the unfamiliar content.