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"Click here" to learn more about what is taking place in 5th- and 6th-Grade Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Tutorial this week.

Language Arts

In Ms. Bennett's Language Arts class, students will work on a Greek roots spelling list. Those words are geology, geography, microphone, hydropower, phobia, telegraph, chronology, biosphere, microscopic, astronomy, eccentric, cyclone, physiology, telephoto, phonics, synchronize, grammar, paragraph, atmosphere, and graphics. The students will identify the roots and their meanings such as geo means earth, phon means sounds, and chron means time. The test over these words will be on Friday, April 8. Our next list of vocabulary words from Wordly Wise is comprised of the following words: benevolent, consent, discreet, engross, esteem, exaggerate, extensive, fantastic, intrigue, marvel, mission, opportunity, relinquish, tyrant, vanquish. Students will use these words to match with definitions, complete a homophone activity to check for correct usage, and create a Keynote of antonyms and synonyms to use as a study tool. There is also an interesting reading selection about Marco Polo that accompanies these words. The quiz over these words will be on Friday, April 8. In the writing department, students continue participating in daily writing prompts that allow them to practice writing in a clear, organized way on a myriad of topics. This week's prompts include topics such as reading maps, the discovery of the North Pole, and describing a sibling or friend. After writing a paragraph, each student uses a rubric to give themselves a grade on the follow items: capitalization, usage (verbs and pronouns), punctuation, spelling, topic sentence, star ideas, supporting details, and conclusion sentence. The repetition of the process combined with the variation of the topic is a great tool for this class as they develop writing skills. We are also beginning a new Open Court unit entitled Beyond the Notes. The first selection from this unit is an expository text called "What is an Orchestra?" While reading, students will practice finding the main idea and supporting details and classifying and categorizing information. Students will use Inspiration 8 templates to record the information they are finding as they utilize these comprehension skills.
 
This week in Ms. Clark’s Language Arts class: Phonological Awareness- The students were given fluency drills with words containing the sounds of i=/y/ and ch=/k/, /sh/, and que=/k/. Even though whole class SPIRE instruction is over these sounds and others, words will be reviewed on a weekly basis and tracked for fluency. Phonics- The class is practicing words that end in /ion/ and words that have the /er/ sound spelled in multiple ways. These are words such as combination, satisfaction, burst, and thirsty. Vocabulary- During the fourth quarter, vocabulary words will be coming from the Open Court reading curriculum. Students are defining new words within the context of the story and then using the definitions to create sentences of their own. Students are also working on homophones, words with the same sound but different spelling and meaning. Written Expression- This week the class is practicing more editing skills. The students will be taking the ERB writing assessment this Thursday and Friday. They will have 50 minutes both days. They will use this time to prewrite, create a rough draft, edit, and then create a final draft. Reading Comprehension- This week the class is beginning a unit from the Open Court reading textbook. For the remainder of the year students will be using this text to read short stories and learn new comprehension strategies. The first unit features stories about perseverance. This week we are beginning an excerpt from The Hatchet called “The Fire Builder.” Students will be learning about identifying the author’s purpose in writing as well as predicting and summarizing.
 
Mrs. Hayes' Language Arts: Phonemic Awareness- Students are moving through Level 8 of SPIRE using a variety of prefixes.  Our next lessons will cover the prefixes -re, -de, and -ex.  Students are reviewing phonogram cards containing prefixes, suffixes, and consonant and vowel combinations. They are using their magnetic boards to build words and practicing phonological awareness listening for and clapping out syllables in words.  Please have your students practice reading the words in their SPIRE readers at home.  Fluency- Students have fluency sheets in their planners to practice at home. They are learning so many new multisyllable words with prefixes and will benefit from the extra practice of pronouncing the words accurately and keeping up a moderate pace while reading.  Reading fluency is like playing a sport or a musical instrument.  Practice makes perfect! Comprehension- Students have begun reading Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.  Students will be using the Mindwings Story Grammar Marker in class to discuss characters, setting, emotions, problems and solutions following oral reading in class. They will also be independently answering online comprehension questions after class discussions. Spelling-New spelling words from our SPIRE unit include receive, refrigerator, reappear, rebuild, remain, resource, research, delicious, description, decide, develop, department, decision, and deceive.  Students will be building the words with tiles and will practice spelling the words syllable by syllable. Vocabulary- Artemis Fowl has excellent new vocabulary words to learn such as millennium, eminent, fraudulent, earnest and meander.  Students will be putting together a vocabulary booklet with their laptops to study the words. Written Expression- Students received their personal narrative writing prompt today to begin their ERB writing assessment.  They worked on the rough draft today and will be completing the final copy tomorrow.  The boys in Mrs. Hayes' class have worked hard all year to hone their writing skills.  We are anxiously awaiting the final copies.
 
This week in Mrs. Hibbs’ Language Arts Class:  On Thursday and Friday of this week students will be taking the ERB writing assessment during Language Arts.  We will be reviewing our writing skills in preparation on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Phonological Awareness- As the students write they will attempt to use words containing learned prefixes and suffixes.  Phonics- Students will sound words out syllable by syllable in order to spell them correctly.  Vocabulary- The class will work to enrich their writing by adding as many describing words as possible to paint a picture for the reader.  Written Expression- Students will review the Step Up to Writing format for writing an informative, descriptive essay.  They will practice using CUPS (capitalization, usage, punctuation, and spelling) to edit their work independently.  Reading Comprehension- The students will read their writing to make sure each thought is explained clearly and that transition words are used correctly to sequence the information.  
 
This week in Mrs. Howard's Language Arts class, the students spent the beginning of the week focused on 5-paragraph essay organization utilizing sequencing skills, transitions and descriptive words in preparation for their ERB testing. ERB tests were administered today and tomorrow. Spelling- Students continued to explore Spellography Lesson 23 which focuses on the spelling of /ow/ by the position of the sound in a word. They also reviewed homophone and usage, syllables and accent and split personality words.  Vocabulary: Students used dictionary skills to complete Comic Life reports on Tuck Everlasting vocabulary words. Their reports included personal connections, definitions, synonyms and illustrations. Reading Comprehension- Students completed a story map activity, summarizing Chapters 16-20 in their class novel study, Tuck Everlasting. Fluency - Students continue to be encouraged to use best voice and show emotion and flow while reading. Inference strategies and rereading as part of a group discussion is utilized for stronger comprehension. Students continue to respond to the reading by writing personal responses and analyzing the literature with written recall and interpretation responses. Class time was given for students to complete Accelerated Reader tests. Students are required to complete two tests per month.
 
Ms. Kienzle’s Language Arts class: Students will complete a review of all concepts learned in SPIRE Level 4 and begin SPIRE Level 5. The first concept in SPIRE level 5 is soft c, as in prince and juice. Vocabulary: Students will review vocabulary words from Number the Stars by Louis Lowry in preparation for a quiz over the novel. Students will learn target SPIRE vocabulary words. Comprehension: Students have completed reading Number the Stars. They will review vocabulary, characters, and events from the novel and prepare to take a final test. Written Expression: Students will prepare for ERB testing by responding to daily writing prompts. Students will be encouraged to use prewriting, writing, and editing strategies from Story Grammar Marker. Phonological awareness: Students will segment target SPIRE words into individual phonemes or sounds. Beginning, middle, and ending sound identification, as well as rhyming will be targeted. Phonics/Spelling: Spelling will be targeted each day during SPIRE lessons and written expression activities. 
 
Mrs. Lewis' Language Arts Class: Reading Comprehension: This week the students are reading a variety of excerpts on which to define the author's purpose. They are getting practice with answering multiple choice assessments in preparation for the upcoming testing.  We will begin the short chapter book The Chocolate Touch this week as well. We will be using this story to prepare us for our next novel study. We will continue to target the comprehension areas of determining the main idea, overall theme, and answering inferential questions. Written Expression: The students are taking the ERB writing assessment at the end of this week. The students have been working diligently on perfecting their writing. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday completing a practice prompt, following the same timed structure of the ERB. The students planned, wrote a rough draft, wrote a final draft and revised and edited an essay about their Spring Breaks.  We came up with a mneumonic to help the students remember what they should do when they think they are finished writing. CHECK: Count sentences, How does it sound?, Errors in CUPS, Could I add more details?, Keep it neat.
 
Mrs. Prewitt’s Language Arts class continues with SPIRE 7. The class is starting with Phonics (Sound/Symbol Relationships) SPIRE 7 endings -tion and -sion as well as sounds -ci, -ti. Phonological Awareness (Awareness of the different sounds in words, and the understanding of the relationships of the sounds) -tion (motion), -sion (expression, television), -ci/-ti (physician, patient).  Fluency (Using appropriate expression and speed in reading): Students will read decodable words, sentences, and short stories and essays from the lessons including The Constitution and the Constitutional Convention and Nutrition. Vocabulary: Students will begin a new unit including words with -tiom, sion, -ci, and -ti sounds including: assertion, contraption, beneficial, digression, essential, excursion, excavation, impatient, judicial, and omission. Written Expression: Grammar with Daily Oral Language which includes editing in a multiple choice format and paragraph format. Students continue practicing ERB style prompt writing in stages with a concentration on content. Story Grammar: Students will continue to discuss and read, Leepike Ridge. Students are collaborating to create an Inspiration 8 flipchart following the story outline with an In a Nutshell page format where the students may also analyze figures of speech and other types of writing styles that add to language with writing. 
 
Mrs. Ralston was very excited to see her Language Arts class return from Spring Break.  The boys were rested, had funny stories to share, and eased back into their Language Arts routine with few reminders and prompts.  Phonics (Sound/Symbol Relationships):  The students were introduced to the suffix -tion pronounced /shun/.  Phonological Awareness (Awareness of the different sounds in words, and the understanding of the relationships of the sounds):  Phonemic awareness activities involved segmenting and identifying syllables.  For example, in the word station the first syllable is sta and the second syllable is tion.  Vocabulary:  Vocabulary discussed on their word find sheet activity were expectation, translation, quotation, and petition.  Students first scanned their word find sheet to locate -tion words.  Next they took turns composing oral sentences with the targeted vocabulary terms.  Grammar:   The boys are singing the preposition song without looking at the lyrics sheet and are creating some very humorous sentences using prepositions.  Grammar activities include correcting DOL sentences and diagramming color-coded PSV on the Promethean board.  Written Expression:  Upon their return from Spring Break the class wrote a humorous collaborative story focusing on the boring aspects of plane and car travel.  In preparation for the ERB Writing Assessment, March 31 and April 1, the boys have continued reviewing past ERB writing prompts, including their fall prompts.  
 
Mrs. Richter's Language Arts class is starting the -tion and -sion phonics (sound/symbol relationship) lessons in Level 7 SPIRE.  This suffix makes the shun sound.  Phonological Awareness: (awareness of the different sounds in words, and the understanding of the relationships of the sounds) Counting syllables, breaking words into syllables, and changing sounds were the skills practiced this week.  For example, what is the second syllable in inscription (scrip), and what is the third syllable in inscription (tion).  Fluency: (using appropriate expression and speed in reading) Students read multisyllable words that follow the -tion pattern.  Vocabulary: The test will be Friday, April 8.  The words are urgent, famished, immense, lethargic, obedient, grimace, ration, animosity, elated, and vague. Comprehension: Students read concept mastery fluency drill sheets this week. Spelling: They spelled words that followed the -tion and -sion shun pattern using letter tiles.  Written Expression:  Students write in their journals every day and practice grammar skills using Daily Oral Language warm-up drills.  Students spent today and will spend tomorrow writing for the ERB assessment.  In grammar this week students concentrated on finding unrelated details for supporting sentences.
 
Ms. Rigdon's Language Arts class will be finishing their SPIRE 6 this quarter.  The students will be working on finding details, recognizing sequences, writing summaries, and overall fact recall for their novel study, Number the Stars, test on Friday.  The students will be acting in the skit on Thursday, complete with props and other surprises.  Phonics/Spelling: The class is starting the study of the sounds /aw/ and /au/.  Each student should be building the new word list nightly. Fluency: SPIRE stories are to be read aloud at home with attention to punctuation, paragraphs, pausing at commas, and stopping at periods as well as reading with emotion. Reading Comprehension this week has covered reviewing the questions from the chapters.
 
Mrs. Rose’s Language Arts: In reading comprehension, students are using several activities and stories to help them practice reading and answering questions independently. Students recently read a story about Theodore Roosevelt and his interest in nature. During one experiment, he once put two mice in the icebox to his mother’s dismay. He later said it was “a loss to science.” After reading about how President Roosevelt got his nickname “Teddy,” students enjoyed a discussion on nicknames. They would all be happy to share with you the story of “Teddy” and how his name influenced the toy world forever. They were asked to answer comprehension questions independently. Questions required students to recall details, draw conclusions, and select an appropriate title for a book that might include this story. For example, from a list of choices, students should have chosen the title The Childhoods of America’s Presidents as an appropriate title for a book. Students will complete several more activities like this to help them prepare for the type of questions they may see on the Stanford testing next week. In grammar, students are reviewing nouns, names of nouns, common/proper nouns, and singular/plural forms of nouns. In writing, students are practicing their independent writing skills using several story prompts and an informal outline template on their computers. Students will also review CUPS (capitalization, usage, punctuation, and spelling) and how to identify these types of errors within their own writing. These activities will help prepare students for the ERB, a writing test that will be given on Thursday and Friday of this week.
 
This week in Miss Southard's Language Arts class, students will begin Unit 1: Perseverance, in their Open Court textbook. This particular unit is excellent for spring semester when all students continue to persevere until the end of the year. This week, the class will read "The Fire Builder" by Gary Paulsen, watch an interview of the author, explore survival skills connected to Denali state park, focus on author's purpose, and reading comprehension. Students will also read "Amoraq, the Wolf" in their Open Court text. On Thursday and Friday students will be taking the ERB. The class has continued to prepare for the standardized test throughout the year. I am looking forward to seeing the results of the test later this spring!
 
Mrs. Yessick’s Language Arts class will have a short week due to the faculty workday and ERB assessment.  The ERB is a writing assessment which the entire Upper Elementary will be taking on Thursday and Friday.  This assessment will take the entire class period both days.  Students will use the first day to do prewriting activities such as brainstorming and creating an outline.  Most students will begin their rough draft on the first day.  The second day, students will complete the rough draft and begin the final copy.  The students will be editing and revising on the second day, as well.  The class will not be given the writing prompt until Thursday when the assessment begins.  Students can discuss their prompt at home that night and get ideas to add to their paper, but they cannot bring notes about the prompt into the classroom.  Tuesday and Wednesday students will continue to read Chapters 10-12 in Frindle.  The test over these chapters will be Friday, April 8.  Students have been completing note cards with the vocabulary word and definition and have placed them on a ring to review before the test.  Fluency assessments on past phonemes will be completed this week.  This will be a good opportunity to review one-minute fluency drills.  Before the writing assessment, students will continue to review the steps in writing, in addition to writing topic and concluding sentences, and adding detail.  Review in editing includes the acronym COPS, which stands for capitalization, organization, punctuation, and spelling.  We are off to a great start as we begin our last nine weeks of class.

Math

As Ms. Bennett's Everyday Math class continues to enjoy Unit 8, we are transitioning to the study of ratios. Having worked with rates to this point, we begin with the basic understanding that while rates compare data with different units (such as miles, hours, and gallons), ratios compare quantities using the same unit (such as cards in a deck). Students will practice part-to-part ratios with scenarios that ask them to look at a certain type of cards in comparison with another type of cards; students will also practice part-to-whole ratios asking them to compare a certain type of cards in comparison to the entire deck. Students will also apply these skills to types of weather, animals in a zoo, and instruments in a band. For computation review, students will complete all four operations with fractions. We continue using FASTT Math focusing on subtraction and addition for fact fluency.
 
This week Ms. Clark’s Math class is beginning part two of their geometry unit. Students will first be reviewing identifying quadrilaterals and triangles, as well as reviewing the process for finding area and circumference of circles. The class will then work on the steps for finding the area of triangles. They will begin with right triangles, and then move on to other types. Once students have a firm grasp of the steps involved and have shown that they are able to work out the problems by hand, they will then be allowed to use a calculator to find the final answers. 
 
Mrs. Hayes' Math class is ready for Saxon test number 11.  Students will review skills covered on the test in class that include factors, multiples, word problems that require division, comparing fractions and percents, line segments, perimeter, rounding to the nearest thousand, basic computation, adding a column of decimals, multistep algorithms, and missing numbers.  Our next Saxon lessons include solving two-step equations, and multiplying three or more factors and simplifying expressions containing exponents and writing expressions using exponents.  The class is continuing to review concepts and applications skills and computation skills including multidigit multiplication, long division and fractions that are covered on Curriculum Based Measurement assessments.
 
This week in Mrs. Howard’s Math class students were introduced to an order of operation mnemonic for parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition and subtraction, PEMDAS, and started their exploration of algebraic concepts. Our primary focus this week was on evaluating algebraic expression involving decimals and fractions using the order of operations. Application and Concepts: Students completed daily math drills to improve fact fluency. Additionally we started a daily review of previously taught concepts, beginning with multiplying by two-digit numbers. Students practiced these skills interactively as a whole group and independently with online assessments and games, including FASTT Math.
 
Mrs. Lewis’ Math: This week, the students are reviewing what they have learned about decimals. They have each chosen an area they feel confident in and are preparing a lesson to share with the rest of the class. Areas chosen include multiplying decimals, dividing decimals, converting decimals and percents, and finding percentages of dollar amounts.  They will be taking a short quiz next week reviewing these skills. The students are working to build their fact fluency in their homework, as well as reinforcing their skills in computations with decimals.
 
In Mrs. Prewitt’s class, we’ll be combining Unit 5 and 6: Decimals and Mixed Numbers. Computation: Students will continue to practice different types of mixed computation including new concepts. Students will continue to practice computation with fractions while incorporating mixed numbers. Students will begin to use decimals for computation. Concepts and Applications: Students continue to add to their “Cheat Codes” books, which is a self made dictionary of definitions and examples of mathematical terms used in the Transitional Mathematics book (ie: relating fractions, percents, decimals, and money). Students will continue measuring angles, and the students will practice drawing angles. Students will also practice transitions, flips and turns. Students will continue to look at word problems including these computation and application concepts.  Fact Fluency/Automaticity: Students continue FASTT Math in division and subtraction. Students will complete speed drills rotating multiplication, subtraction, division, and addition on paper and online. Students will concentrate on addition and subtraction this week. 
 
Students in Mrs. Richter's Math class are working on individual computation skills.  Some are continuing long division while another group is reviewing comparing fractions.  The fraction group will have a comparing fractions quiz this Friday.  Then they will move to working with mixed numbers.  The long division group completed a mnemonic poster to remember the steps in long division.  The steps in long division are divide, multiply, subtract, check, and bring down.  Every day students start class computing problems from previously taught computation skills.  This week students continued to practice the following concepts and applications identifying money, making correct change, place value, and finding mean, median, and range. The new concept is converting fractions to decimals and percentages.  In addition to this students spend time working every other day on FASTT Math, which is a computer software program designed to strengthen students math fluency with facts.  Students spent this week reviewing 0s - 7s.  Next week the 8s will be introduced.
 
Ms. Rigdon's Math class continues to use FASTT Math to improve fluency of facts with the fact families 6-12 by practicing them in more difficult problems.  The students continue to review the differences between proper, improper  and  mixed numbered fractions.  Learning the relationships has been difficult so the class will continue to review and practice the foundational pieces of fractions as well as the patterns for finding GCF, LCM, and LCD in order to adequately reduce or rename, and simplify their fractions. 
 
Mrs. Rose’s Math: In concepts and application, students will spend some time working with word problems this week. Word problems are common on the standardized testing and students will use this week to practice solving word problems independently. Students spent several weeks on this topic earlier this year and will enjoy reviewing the strategies they learned when working with word problems. In computation, students continue to discuss decimals and how to properly add/subtract numbers with decimals. Students will also convert decimals to equivalent fractions and percentages.
 
This week in Miss Southard's Math class, students will begin the week by reviewing multiplication of decimal skills and concepts. On Tuesday, students began a unit on division of decimals. Students will focus on single digit division, multidigit division, sales tax, and word problems.  Students also reviewed computation and application equations from throughout the year. Last quarter, each individual created a folder with equations they felt confident solving. This quarter, students will continue to solve equations and add those problems to his or her "confident" stack.
 
In Mrs. Yessick’s Math class, students are practicing computation problems for the daily warm-up.  Since we have begun our unit on fractions, the problems on fractions are beginning to make more sense.  Students will be adding and subtracting mixed numbers on the computation sheet, in addition to other fraction problems.  In fractions this week, students will practice using fractions in word problems.   An example would be the following:  There are 10 answers on the paper.  7 of the 10 answers are correct.  What fraction of the answers are correct? 7/10   Students will also be practicing fraction vocabulary by naming numerators and denominators.  They will read fractions such as eleven fifteenths and write it as a fraction. In measurement, students will be drawing line segments for a given length using their rulers.  It could be to the fourth, eighth, or half inch.  This gives the class practice in precise measurement.  The class is working hard to finish strong on the last nine weeks of school!

5th-Grade Science Lab

In lab class, fifth graders are finishing Unit C, Chapter 2, Lesson 2: Molecules and Compounds and Lesson 3: The Periodic Table.  Students spent this week finishing their own models of the Periodic Table of Elements from Fun Noodles.  Students love this project.  The models will be on display in the hallway by Eskind Library.  Students also went to the Lower School Discovery Lab to see the baby duck eggs in the incubator.  Upper Elementary and Lower School are working on this project together.  The eggs take 29 days to hatch, so we should have baby ducklings around April 12.
 
5th-Grade Science

Students in Mrs. Hayes' Science class will review information they have learned about atoms, elements, molecules and compounds they are learning about in Science lab.  They will be watching videos to find out what an atom is, what an element is and how they are identified, and what molecules and compounds are and how scientists can understand the activity of atoms when individual atoms are not seen.  They will be taking notes on the videos and answering questions on paper in class as we discuss the information.  This chapter in our Science book is challenging.  The information learned will be used as a building process for students as they will continue to learn about the structure of matter in Science classes in middle school as well as high school.
 
Ms. Rigdon's students passed the Science quiz with flying colors!  Congratulations!  Using their cards has proved to be an effective tool to commit facts to memory.  The students will be practicing test taking strategies that will familiarize each of them with the format of the Standford testing that will begin next week.  Their study will include review on how to read charts, graphs, and statistics.
 
Mrs. Rose’s Science: This week, students will have an opportunity to present their science projects to their peers in class. Students will continue to discuss atoms and elements this week. They will also take an indepth look at the periodic table and learn how to use the table to answer various questions regarding the elements. Next week, students will begin to a review for a test on Chapter 2. 
 
6th-Grade Science Lab
 
Students are starting Unit D ,Chapter 1, Lesson 1: The Body’s Nervous Systems.  The students discussed how the nervous system is similar to computers and cell phones.  Students watched a video clip of nerve cells under a microscope showing the neurons complete with dendrites and an axon.  Then students made a model of a neuron showing the details of the cell body, nucleus, axon, dendrite, and synapse.  Students used pipe cleaners and yarn to model dendrites and the axon.  Students wrapped the axon in Saran Wrap to simulate the myelin sheath, which lead to a discussion about Alzheimer’s Disease.

6th-Grade Science

Ms. Bennett's Science class is preparing for a quiz on Thursday, April 7 over these terms: neurons, dendrites, axon, synapse, brain, spinal column, spinal cord, somatic system, and automatic system. Students have been working for the past week and a half with these terms. Everyone is improving their ability to create vocabulary study tools using Keynote. Each student is creating a presentation that includes the word, a definition, and a picture. We are also viewing several interesting videos about the nervous system. One cultural connection to this lesson came in the format of reading a few poems by Irish poet Christopher Nolan who has been affected by a severe neurological disorder.
 
This week Ms. Clark’s Science class concluded Chapter 2 of Unit C. The students completed a study guide throughout the week. The material covered includes both vocabulary words from the text as well as diagrams. Students also participated in several class review activities during the week. There will be an assessment over this chapter on Friday 4/1. Next week the class will begin Chapter 3 on chemical properties and the parts of an atom. 
 
Mrs. Lewis' Science class: This week in science, the students are continuing to learn the differences between chemical and physical properties. They are learning about the Law of Conservation of Mass and learning about the parts of the atom. In their homework, they are using the study skills of finding the main idea and outlining.
 
This week in Miss Southard's Science class, students began Unit C, Chapter 2, Lesson 1. The first Unit focuses on thermal energy. Vocabulary words this week include: thermal energy, heat, temperature, conduction, convection, convectors, and radiation. Students completed a vocabulary and study skills activity where they must locate the page number of the word, highlight the word and definition, and provide an example of the word. This week students will also participate in an interactive Keynote presentation pertaining to heat, explore convection and radiation through the Science wiki, and learn more extensively about thermal energy during an online activity.

5th-Grade Social Studies

Students in Mrs. Hayes' Social Studies class are working in pairs to write questions for their study guide of Chapter Nine.  Each set of partners is assigned a specific subject and then asked to read from the book and think about the information they have learned in class activities to write questions.  The questions will be put together in a study guide to prepare for the test on Friday, April 1.   The study guide will include student questions as well as questions written by Mrs. Hayes.  Students have learned how changes such as the rise of big business and industry, immigration, inventions, expansion and reform changed our country before the two great world wars.  Students will be using their study guides this week in class and at home to prepare for the test.  The test will have definition matching, multiple choice, true or false and short essay questions.
 
Ms. Rigdon’s Social Studies has begun their study of the immigrants coming to America, starting with Ellis Island.  Thousands of people came from Europe to become a strong workforce in New York sweat shops.   Their presence affected industry, transportation, politics, and the westward movement as well as the Civil War.  The class will be researching their own ancestry this week and need family help to answer some of the questions that they will be bringing home.
 
Mrs. Rose’s Social Studies: Students used a Venn diagram this week to compare the similarities and differences between the first automobile assembly line and today’s assembly line. Students watched a short clip of the Model T’s first assembly line and were shocked to see some of the same things they saw in the Nissan factory a few weeks ago. Students recognized similarities such as the use of pulleys and other simple machines to lift the shell of the car into place. They also saw a tire being built out of wood and encased metal and tubings. Students will also discuss other fabulous inventions that influenced our country today. Students will discuss immigrants and how their dedication to hard work and their hope for freedom shaped our history.
 
6th-Grade Social Studies

In Ms. Bennett's Social Studies class, students are learning more about the geography of Europe. We will identify specific features of Europe such as its many islands, peninsulas, and long jagged coastline. We will also find three major islands that are a part of Europe: Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. We will also discuss various reasons students may or may not enjoy living in that part of the world. We are fortunate to have several class members who are able to share personal experiences having visited this part of the world themselves.
 
This week Ms. Clark’s Social Studies class reviewed the Punic Wars and the effect that they had on the Roman Republic. Then they began Chapter 9, Lesson 3 on an era known as the Pax Romana. They learned about the government and society in the Roman Empire during this time. The students also read about and discussed Julius Caesar and the ways in which he impacted the Roman Empire. The students were encouraged to learn about this era of Rome and Caesar’s time as emperor and then debate the pros and cons of his rule. 
 
Mrs. Lewis’ Social Studies: The students are using this week to review appropriate classroom behavior, as the break can often cause a lapse in memory. Our class created an un-thinkable together on Tuesday called CaptainCaresTooMuch. He represents those times when you are trying to help someone or a situation, but you actually fuel the flame and make it worse. We are also reviewing the citizens and geography of Rome, while studying vocabulary in our homework. The students are making their own podcasts in Social Studies tech class on topics of Rome they have chosen.
 
This week Miss Southard's Social Studies class will focus on Science. Next week in Social Studies, the class will complete their past Unit on Rome.

Tutorial

In Ms. Bennett's Writing Tutorial students continue participating in daily writing prompts that allow them to practice writing in a clear, organized way on a myriad of topics. This week's prompts include topics such as reading maps, the discovery of the North Pole, and describing a sibling or friend. After writing a paragraph, each student uses a rubric to give themselves a grade on the follow items: capitalization, usage (verbs and pronouns), punctuation, spelling, topic sentence, star ideas, supporting details, and conclusion sentence. The repetition of the process combined with the variation of the topic is a great tool for this class as they develop writing skills.
 
This week in Ms. Clark's Math Tutorial the students continued to discuss the concepts of perimeter and area. They have begun working on calculating the perimeter and area of both squares and rectangles. Students will be using manipulative blocks to show the area of a space and then use the blocks to calculate the area’s value. All students are also continuing fact practice of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. 
 
Students in Mrs. Hayes' Writing Tutorial will be reading writing samples they have completed in class during the last two nine weeks.  After reading the samples, the students will write down three positive things they observe about each sample.  They will also write down three things they think they could improve on in their writing.  This exercise is to help students see the progress they have made throughout the year and see what skills they will want to use and what skills they will be careful to improve on as they participate in the ERB writing assessment on Thursday and Friday. 
 
Mrs. Howard's Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Tutorial class: This week students completed Pac-a-Pix puzzles to sharpen logic and improve cognitive skills. Students utilized their deductive reasoning and problem solving skills to complete mind bender problems and to solve secret message mysteries. Finally students reviewed the concept of classification and solved problems by creating sets and subsets.
 
Mrs. Lewis’ Tutorial: The students are continuing to build their fact fluency with a variety of games. Lately, we have been playing a rotating game involving Making Math Real 9-Lines and writing on windows. The students are also applying what they are learning in their math classes creating word problems to present and teach to the class.
 
Mrs. Richter’s Tutorial class is a focus on written expression with an emphasis on generating ideas and adding details to writing.  Students spent this week working on a packet titled “Perfect Paragraph.”  Students spent Tuesday and Wednesday reviewing skills such as writing varied topic sentences in a sophisticated manner that is beyond just an “announcement”, such as “Today I am writing about ____.” Today and tomorrow formal writing structure is not allowed as a result of the ERB assessment, so students read tall tales and discussed the various parts because next week students will write their own tall tales and compile it into a book.  
 
Ms. Rigdon's tutorial class continues to work on organization as well as their introductions and conclusions.  Writing/rewriting/writing will continue this week in order to continue the practice with the format that will be on the ERB testing starting this Thursday and Friday, March 31 and the 1.
 
Mrs. Rose’s Tutorial: Students continued to work on a video podcast of Someone Is Eating the Sun. Students will also listen to several recorded examples of a fluent reader. They will in turn, practice reading the same selections to each other as they model fluent reading strategies. Students will also review sight words this week with a game called “Sightword Baseball.”  Recent studies have shown that students often have difficulty reading fluently due to limited sight word vocabulary. Students often know how to sound out words but continue to struggle with ordinary words when reading aloud. This hinders speed, expression, and sometime comprehension. Students will play a game in which they will be asked to read sight words on cards as quickly as they can. During each inning of the game, students may earn points for words read correctly. Students will collect their points throughout the game. 
 
This week in Miss Southard's Tutorial class, students will complete a computer generated activity pertaining to his Spring Break. Each student will participate in a creative writing project that will combine both fiction and non-fiction from each individual's Spring Break experience. Students will also review Step Up to Writing skills on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for the ERB which will be taken in Language Arts class on Thursday and Friday.
 
In Mrs. Yessick’s Math Tutorial, students begin a new unit of study on probability.  Students are familiar with the term “chance,” and discussion about the “chance” or “probability” of an event occurring can be predicted.  Determining probabilities can help students understand past events and make decisions about future events.  The class will first test probability to see a pattern of regularity over the long run.  The first group activity introduces students to experimental probabilities.  In this activity, “Flipping for Breakfast,” students will experiment to see for themselves that, over the long run, the fraction of heads that occurs when a coin is tossed - the experiment of probability - is close to one half.  Games will involve probability as in the game of “Yahtzee.”
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Currey Ingram Academy is an exemplary JK-12 day and boarding school that empowers students with learning differences to achieve their fullest potential. Since 2002, the school has been located on an 83-acre campus in Brentwood, Tennessee, just miles from Nashville and Franklin. Families from 33 states and eight countries cite the school as their primary reason for moving to Middle Tennessee.

Currey Ingram Academy is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and AdvancEd/Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).