Welcome to the 2nd half of the year!  This month’s newsletter is filled with all the fantastic learning your student has done during the month of January and what’s coming in February!

Important Dates & Reminders

• Please call the front office if your child will be late, absent or leaving early from school.
• Students must wear a mask to school and it must be on all day except for eating and drinking.
• Students need to bring their COMPUTER and CHARGER home with them each day and bring it back to school fully charged the next day.

Language Arts

What We Learned This Past Month:

Reading: 

• We began our unit on fantasy!
• We are exploring a character’s quest, or journey. 
• We are using all we know about developing ideas and theories about the characters in our books.
• We are keeping track of the many conflicts characters face, both internal and external, and how these conflicts affect the character and the plot of the story. 
• We are evaluating themes and morals and considering how they are relevant to our lives today. 
• We are expanding  our thinking through hearing the perspectives of our peers.

Writing: 

• We are writing fantasy short stories!
• We have developed characters based on important people in our lives. 
• We have developed imaginary settings. 
• We have brought magical elements into our stories. 

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

Reading:

• We will read a variety of poems to discover what we notice and enjoy.  
• We will look at how a poet plays with language.  
• We will reflect the tone or mood of the poem while they read aloud.
• We will consider and discuss different interpretations of the same poem.

Writing:  

• We will search for inspiration in many places: everyday objects, conflicts, surprising events, beautiful images, universal ideas, or anything (or anyone) else that evokes strong feelings.
• We will make decisions about which ideas or poems to draft, revise, and publish.

Math

What We Learned This Past Month:

• We added and subtracted fractions with the same and different denominators. Students learned different strategies and chose to use the one that worked best for them. Students applied this skill to solving story problems.
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• We multiplied fractions by whole numbers. Students learned different strategies and chose to use the one that worked best for them. Students applied this skill to solving story problems.

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

In February, we will begin our unit on algebraic reasoning! Students will:

• Identify, describe, create, express, and extend number patterns found in objects, pictures, numbers, and tables.
• Investigate and describe the concept of variable
• Write an equation to represent a given mathematical relationship, using a variable
• Use an expression with a variable to represent a given verbal expression involving one operation and create their own problems.

At the end of the month, students will begin our unit focused on measurement.

Advanced Math 

What We Learned This Past Month:

• We identified and represented integers.
• We added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided integers.
• We solved practical problems involving operations with integers.

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

We will begin our unit on coordinate planes and congruence.  

• We will Identify the components of the coordinate plane.
• We will identify the coordinates of a point and graph ordered pairs in a coordinate plane.
• We will determine congruence of segments, angles, and polygons.

Science

What We Learned This Past Month:

We finished our unit on oceans in December. 

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

We will begin our unit on the energy of light and sound.  

• We will investigate and understand how sound is created and transmitted, and how it is used.
• We will Investigate and understand the basic characteristics of visible light and how it behaves

Social Studies

What We Learned This Past Month:

We have continued our study of ancient civilizations by focusing on Greece, Rome, and Southwest Asia.  

• Using a problem based learning (PBL) teaching method students are gaining knowledge and technology skills by investigating an authentic, engaging question.  
• The PBL question students are working with is how can you as a travel agent convince others to travel and appreciate the history of an ancient civilization for their next vacation?  
• Students are conducting research on their chosen ancient civilization and using technology to present their information to others.  

We look forward to sharing their final products!

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

We will begin our Global Awareness Technology Project (GATP).  The Global Awareness Technology Project (GATP) is an inquiry-based research learning experience where students choose a topic aligned to specific aspects of ancient cultures (cultural universals) that are seen in all cultures.  The GATP supports Portrait of a Graduate attributes and skills.