a monday post again...

Oh dear...another weekend slipped by...I hope I get a few bonus points for posting multiple times over break...please forgive me!

Last week was great...it was so good to get right back in the saddle! We were very busy...here is how it all went down...

Language Arts
This was our final week of poetry...we ended it writing Color Poems....the kids will publish them in the lab on Thursday...they are FANTASTIC!!

We will be starting off our Biography Unit this week...most of the skills will be modeled using information about Martin Luther King, Jr...and then the kids will be choosing a famous person (I think we are doing a Hall of Presidents and First Ladies this year)...they will be researching and writing a biography in first person from the President or First Lady's perspective. They will write Diamante poems about the famous person and we will create timelines of their lives. All work will be completed in class with the exception of choosing their "outfit" and "prop"...our end product is a "Wax Museum"...it is a really fun morning for parents...I will get the date to you soon!!

We are also getting ready to write an opinion/argument piece...we have written multiple expository paragraphs...and the kids are now ready to write essays...so we're going to read up on a hot topic...there is talk that the government is getting rid of the dollar bill and moving to a dollar coin...we will be taking a stance and supporting our argument with facts...should be exciting to read!

Social Studies
We have started a unit on Immigration, Culture, and Government. This is such a great unit chock full of history and culture. Along with this unit is an "at-home" project. The description of this project went home today and is due Thursday, January 26th...I told the kids that it was due Friday, January 27th...my bad.

Math
Last week in math we focused on patterns and function tables. We worked with growing patterns, repeating patterns...growing patterns are the tricky ones...but not for this group! Then we worked on function tables and figuring out the rules that describe the function. Today we worked on writing equations using variables to describe the rule. They picked up on it very quickly!!

On a side note...
This Thursday, my husband, Bob, is having hip replacement surgery. He has severe, degenerative arthritis in his right hip, and will finally find some relief with a new hip...but he has a month-long recovery ahead of him. I will be out of school on Thursday and Friday of this week (Jan 12 and 13) and I will take off next Tuesday (the 17th) as well. I am hoping that is all I will have to miss. The kids will be in the very capable hands of Becca Clark, a substitute they all know. I just wanted you all to know where I will be and when I plan to return.

I will not blog this weekend as my husband will not come home from the hospital until Sunday. Thanks for your understanding and I promise a big update on Friday, January 20th.

Although I will not be in school those three days, I will be available by email as always. My work email comes right into my phone, so don't hesitate to send me an email.

Thanks,
Karen