Multiplying, mythology, and mold!

Three weeks left in the first marking period and we are making lots of progress!  Here is what's going on in Room 25 this week and next:

Math
Last Friday we took the Chapter 2 Test and the graded tests will come home on Monday.  This week we begin Chapter 3: Multiplying 2-Digit Numbers.  This chapter takes everything we learned in Chapter 2 and simply adds an extra digit.  This will include multiplying by multiples on ten (Tuesday), estimating products (Wednesday), and multiplying using the Area/Partial Product Method. There will be homework on Tuesday through Thursday this week to review these strategies. Remember to log in to Think Central for access to instructional videos, games, and examples used in class.  Here's an image of the Area/Partial Product method we will focus on this week (click on it for a video!):

Other multiplication strategies we will be covering are Partial Products, and the "old school" Regrouping method.  Keep in mind that I do not care which strategy is used, as long as the students can accurately show their work!

Science

For the rest of the marking period, I am attempting to stay on an alternating schedule of READ about, then DO SOMETHING about it.  Every other day we will observe/experiment/set-up a scientific experience, and the following day we will read about it.  This week we are classifying living things through kingdoms.  Look forward to hearing about our mold-growing experiences this week!  In addition, Tuesday/Wednesday the students will receive a cell-building project that will be worked on at home.  This will be due next Friday, October 14th.

Language Arts

Reading

We will continue our focus on Traditional Literature and the different types of Folktales. Both this week and next week will focus on Greek Mythology; tying in character traits, drama, theme, and conflict.  The culminating activity next week will be a performance on Pandora's Box!

Word Study

This week we will take our Work Study quiz on Tuesday.  The new words for the week are all homophone pairs (words that sound the same, but are spelled differently).  We will emphasize the difference in meaning this week, which is important when writing context-clue sentences.  There will be SIX options this week due to the need to focus on meaning and part of speech.  Here are the words for the week.  These words will last until Friday, October 14th.  The quiz will take place on that day as well.

Writing

We're working on finishing up our persuasive essays from last week,  Stay tuned!  In addition to finishing our persuasive essays, we will be writing many reflections during independent reading, as well as reflecting on our Science observations and experiments.

Have a great week!  Don't forget to stay updated through Twitter at @misterholmes25.