Vacation...We're Almost There!!

Writing:
Rough drafts of reports are being collected BEFORE the holiday break. I will pass them back in January (with comments/suggestions). The final copies will be due after our vacation. A report rubric and checklist were sent home last week.


Science:
Mr. B suggested a site for the students to check out...I've posted a link under "Favorites"--




Our holiday party will be on Wednesday. I know we're all ready for a celebration!! (and then some rest...)

This Week (December 7-11)

Spelling Words:
1.lived 2.living 3.rattle 4.rattling 5.studied 6.studying 7.traveled 8.traveling
9.changed 10.changing 11.appeared 12.appearing 13.raced 14.racing 15.hoped 16.hoping
17.wrapped 18.wrapping 19.believed 20.believing

Writing:
We're working on our reports. Students should have already completed an outline and 3 pages of 2-column notes (one for each main idea) on their topic. I've assigned a small portion of the students' rough drafts to be completed for homework each night this week. The completed rough draft will be due on Tuesday, December 15. The final copy will be due after the holidays. Please email me with any questions or concerns (permuyk@duvalschools.org). A rubric will be sent home for parents to review.

Science:
Electricity Assessment (December 8)
Moving on to MAGNETISM....

November 23-December 4

I know we are all excited to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends!
Don't forget: No school Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (November 25-27)

Spelling: (Compound Words)
1.anyone 2.however 3.everything 4.himself 5.birthday 6.herself 7.somewhere
8.afternoon 9.chalkboard 10.daydream 11.downstairs 12.grandparents 13.breakfast
14.outfield 15.scarecrow 16.nobody 17.dragonfly 18.keyboard 19.cupcake 20.sunflower
The test will be on Friday (December 4).

This Week (November 16-20)

Spelling: (Contractions)
1.didn't 2.that's 3.they're 4.you're 5.couldn't 6. haven't 7.o'clock 8.we're 9.isn't 10.I'm 11.it's 12.who's 13.they'd 14.could've 15.they've 16.you'll 17.don't 18.aren't 19.wasn't 20.shouldn't

Writing:
We're moving on to report writing...
This week, we're learning how to organize our work. We will also be practicing ways to gather information using 2-column notes. The students are very excited! Everyone will be able to choose their own topic to research. More information to come...

Science:
Our focus is still on electricity. In science lab this week, we experimented with conductors and insulators. Ask your child to EXPLAIN what they learned!

Science Lab: Electricity

How can we light a bulb?

This Week (November 9-13)

Spelling:
1.across 2.along 3.among 4.brother 5.again 6.front 7.banana 8.appear 9.compass
10.pedal 11.given 12.heaven 13.mountain 14.ocean 15.cousin 16.purchase 17.often
18.color 19.orphan 20.force

**VETERAN'S DAY (Wednesday, November 11)
NO SCHOOL!!

Science Lab: Static Electricity

Working with STATIC ELECTRICITY...

This Week (November 2-6)

Spelling (Time and Calendar Words):
1.Tuesday 2.Wednesday 3.Thursday 4.Saturday 5.January 6.February 7.July 8.August
9.September 10.November 11.month 12.year 13.holiday 14.autumn 15.season 16.calendar 17.second 18.minute 19.first 20.transition

Science:
**Vocabulary Quiz on Friday (November 6)**
1.static electricity 2.electric current 3.resistance 4.series circuit
5.parallel circuit

**REPORT CARDS GO HOME TODAY!! (Tuesday, November 3)**
Please review, sign, and return...

This Week (October 27-30)

Spelling
(Focus: Words with double consonants)
1.follow 2.matter 3.summer 4.million 5.dollar 6.scissors 7.cattle 8.address 9.office 10.suppertime 11.blizzard 12.penny 13.wrapper 14.wallet 15.occurrence 16.village 17.collide 18.battle *19.inevitable *20.boundary

This Week (October 19-23)

**Reminder: The spelling test will be this Friday, October 23. The test will include short and long 'u' words and the 10 review words for this week.
Friday is the last day of the 1st nine weeks.

Spelling Review Words:
1.neighbor 2.explain 3.receive 4.piece 5.problem 6.doughnut 7.stranger 8.display
9.vein 10.shrimp

Writer's Workshop:
Please sign and return your child's narrative piece.
This week, we'll continue to work on adding "craft" to our narratives. We will focus on dialogue with "special tags" (words that we use instead of "said"). At this point in the school year, I expect that all narratives should include the elements of a story (characters, setting, problem, events/plot, and solution). We're continuing to practice including "engaging beginnings." I'll also be introducing a lesson on interesting ways to conclude our stories.

Science:
We're wrapping up our study of "the seasons." In science lab, we'll be working with heat lamps in an activity that will help us model the amount of sunlight received during different seasons.

This Week (October 12-16)

Spelling: (short 'u' and long 'u')
1.blush 2.crutch 3.crunch 4.grumpy 5.much 6.umpire 7.uncle 8.none 9.does 10.fuel
11.cute 12.cubicle 13.human 14.future 15.usual 16.uniform 17.used 18.beautiful
19.producer 20.consume

Writer's Workshop:
We practiced writing "on demand" today. Students were given a narrative prompt and 45 minutes to write. In these papers, I expect to see the strategies/ craft we've practiced this year (engaging beginning, elements of a narrative, vivid verbs, and sensory details). I will send this paper home by the end of the week for parents to review, sign, and return.

Science:
Reminder--Vocabulary Quiz on Wednesday (axis, rotation, revolution, orbit, and eclipse)

Class Notes:
Don't forget to bring in Box Tops!! Our first collection date is this Thursday, October 15.

This Week (October 5-9)

Spelling (Focus: short 'o' and long 'o')
1.strong 2.wrong 3.copy 4.cloth 5.problem 6.bottom 7.whole 8.explode 9.control
10.shown 11.bowl 12.October 13.smoky 14.coach 15.throat 16.toast 17.doughnut 18.foe 19.throw 20.approach

Proudly Displaying Our Work

Our first narratives are finally complete! Students were instructed to write a story about a special memory with a favorite family member. Everyone did a great job! A few students were chosen to spotlight their work on the bulletin boards outside our class...

Science Lab: Earth Models

This week, in Science Lab, we made models of the Earth out of clay. We used a piece of string to represent the equator and we marked "Jacksonville" with a toothpick. Next week, we'll use our models in an activity about rotation, revolution, and the seasons.

This Week (September 28-October 2)

Don't forget to sign and return your child's progress report. Please sign the yellow copy...I can make you another copy, if you'd like one to keep.

Writer's Workshop:
This week, I am reading aloud Verdi, by Janell Cannon. We will reference this book as we begin to study "authors' crafts" like strong verbs and creating a setting for our narrative writing. It is important to encourage your child to read daily. Strong readers can become strong WRITERS!!

Science:
We are finishing up our chapter on the Solar System (Ch.18). Today, students are working on a study guide for the test. The test will be one week from tomorrow (Tuesday, October 6).
In science lab this week, we will be creating a model of the Earth using clay and string. As we transition into our new chapter (Ch.17), we will be investigating the essential question: "How does the Earth move in space?"

Spelling: (focus-short 'i' and long 'i')
1.since 2.which 3.inch 4.string 5.picnic 6.shrimp 7.title 8.mind 9.wild 10.decide 11.why 12.skyscraper 13.buy 14.right 15.lightning 16.write 17.cypress 18.bicycle *19.fumble *20.factors

This Week (September 21-25)

I can't believe we're almost half-way through the first 9 weeks! Progress reports go home Friday. We also have our Family Learning Night this Thursday. I hope everyone will be able to attend. I'll be posting some pictures from last Friday's "Literacy Kick-Off'" soon...I'm just waiting on a few more blog permission slips.

Writer's Workshop: After spending the first few weeks mastering rituals and routines, we are now busy working on personal narratives about a favorite memory of a special family member. We used a story map (that included the elements of a narrative) as a graphic organizer for planning. We are also learning about the steps in the writing process, as well as strategies for giving our papers an "engaging beginning."

Science: We're continuing our studies on the inner and outer planets. In science lab, we've already built two models of the solar system... using toilet paper and fruit!

Spelling: This week's focus (short 'e' and long 'e' sounds)--
1.then 2.else 3.edge 4.when 5.tenth 6.empty 7.sketch 8.spelling 9.easy 10.eager 11.sneakers 12.mean 13.fifteen 14.receive 15.piece 16.believe 17.people 18.squeeze *19.infer *20.multiple

Welcome!

Welcome to our class website! You will find weekly spelling list updates here, as well as information on Writer's Workshop and Science. For more general school information, you can click on the Don Brewer link (on the right).
I hope you find this site helpful. Please feel free to contact me anytime (permuyk@duvalschools.org ) with any questions or concerns.

This week's spelling list:
(Focus- short 'a' sound and long 'a' sound)
1.fact 2.began 3.clasp 4.rapid 5.able 6.later 7.space 8.stranger 9.grade 10.display 11.main 12.explain 13.freight 14.neighbor 15.weigh 16.vain 17.April 18.ankle WORDS OF THE DAY: 19.array 20.atlas