I am so sorry for my slothfulness in keeping up my blog postings. It seems as though there is too much to do and too little time.
You can tell by this blog that March is going to be a very busy month with lots to do. This year is on it's downward slope and seems to pick up speed from this point on.
March Calendar
Wednesday, March 2nd: Dr. Seuss's Birthday:-)
Wednesday & Thursday, March 9th & 10th: Parent Teacher Conferences/Book Fair
Friday, March 11th: No School
Wednesday, March 16th: DWA (Conner - 14th; Taylor 15th; Larsen 17th)
Wednesday, March 17th: St. Patrick's Day:-)
Friday, March 18th: No School - Furlough Day
Monday, March 21st: "State Report" Letter goes home
Thursday, March 24th: State Report Letter - due back to school, signed by parent
Friday, March 25th: Beach Day
Thursday, March 29th: 5th Grade Engineering Day at the U of U
Sneak Peek: April 18th - 22nd - Spring Break (Yea!!!)
Reading
Our groups have finished their 1st and are now reading their 2nd survival novel. The books we are reading are Running Out of Time, Weasel, Iceberg Hermit and Captain Grey The students seem to really be enjoy this unit. Make sure you ask them what STOP has to do with survival. We will be finished in a couple more weeks and then move to some stories in our readers that will go along with our social studies unit.
Writing
We have done a lot of practicing for the Direct Writing Assessment and will all feel a "big sigh of relief" when it is over!
Since it is March, we will be learning about leprechauns and the myths surrounding them. After we read several books about them, each student is going to write their own understanding on "How to Catch a Leprechaun". They will then wrap their composition in an art project.
Science
We just finished our Inherited Traits unit. Our class is now going to Mrs. Larsen to learn about physical and chemical changes in matter.
Math
Students have been working really hard learning fractions. We just finished Unit 10. They have learned to add and subtract decimals, make equivalent fraction, find common denominators, and simplify. There are a lot of concepts to cover and it has been lots of work. We are now working on multiplying and dividing fractions.
Social Studies
We just finished a very educational unit on the constitution. Our field trip to the State Capitol was perfectly timed. We got to see the House of Representatives and the Senate at work. We even got to see where the hold his press conferences and the Supreme Court. It is such a beautiful building to visit.
We are now continuing our study of the 19th century and the changes for the U.S., including westward expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth.
The students will be researching and writing a one paragraph report about an explorer, an outlaw, a lawman, or an historical event having to do with the Westward Expansion. This will be a fairly easy project done at school.
Our next project will be a little tougher and will begin next week. Here is some information so you will know what is expected.
Each student will be required to do a President Report on a U.S. President of their choice. The research and completion of the report can be completed at school if time is used wisely. There may be some instances where some work will need to be done at home. I will require this report typed with five complete paragraphs and a cover page. I will give the students two weeks to complete the project. Having laptops available in our classroom will be very beneficial to them. I will guide them through it with simple easy steps using notecards. I will also give them instructions to format the report they type - it will probably only be one double-spaced page. The following image is a sample of the information I will give to each student. You can enlarge it so you can see it better by clicking on the image. This is a good practice for them to get ready for the state report that will be completed later. If you have any questions about this project, please let me know. A wonderful web site to get information is Pioneer Library (Utah's Online Library).
The web address is: http://pioneer.uen.org
Login Name: pioneer
Password: look
Another great site for presidential information is: www.whitehouse.gov
Go to About the White House and click on Presidents
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