Important Dates & Reminders

November 1 and 2: Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences/ No School for Students 

November 3: Begin Quarter 2 

November 24-26 No School for Thanksgiving Break

Language Arts

What We Learned This Past Month:

Students have immersed in a Narrative Nonfiction reading and writing unit. They have read several books and learned the differences between reading for information and reading for pleasure. The students are in the beginning stages of creating a writing piece to reflect a Nonfiction topic they are knowledgeable on.

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

In quarter 2, students will be learning critical thinking skills in literacy via real world applications. Students will look at a variety of media including advertisements, articles, books, and more. They will gain the skills of understanding credibility and thinking deeper about the purpose of various media.

Math

What We Learned This Past Month:

Students have used their understanding of fractions and decimals to solve word problems involving fractions and decimals. We are hoping the students see how we use fractions and decimals in the real world -- at the grocery store, shopping online and in the kitchen while cooking. Talk to your students while you are cooking and measuring to help them understand fractions in real life.

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

Students are beginning unit 3: Rational Numbers and Exponents.  In this unit, students use context to explore integer and rational number values on the number line. Students will use the number line to order fractions, decimals, and percents as well as interpret absolute value. This unit also includes representing patterns with exponents and perfect squares.

Advanced Math 

What We Learned This Past Month:

The students finished up a unit on Proportional Reasoning. Proportional reasoning has been identified as a cornerstone of algebra and involves thinking about relationships and making comparisons of quantities or values. Proportional reasoning has many practical, real-world applications in which you can support your student, such as comparing unit rates at the grocery store to find which item is a better buy, calculating tax, tip or discounts, creating blueprints or scale drawings, and adjusting recipes or concentration of mixtures and solutions.

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

Students are beginning unit 3: Real Numbers and exponents where they will build upon their knowledge of repeated operations with repeated multiplication represented as exponents. Students also investigate the concept of negative exponents through powers of 10 by analyzing patterns. This exploration connects to their existing understanding of place value. Students will be able to apply this understanding of an exponent’s expanded form to the square root of a perfect square, recognizing the connection between squares and square roots.

Science

What We Learned This Past Month:

We have been tracking our weather regularly to look for patterns in temperature, humidity, wind direction, and air pressure. Students have been excited to see the changes in our weather and learn more in our upcoming science unit on Weather!

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

We will be starting our new unit on Weather! unit develops student understanding of the properties of air, the structure of the atmosphere, weather, and air quality. It expands upon their understanding of the effects of solar radiation entering earth’s atmosphere on weather and the significance of convection and radiation in distribution of energy on Earth. Students will engage in unit-long Project Based Learning as they work in teams on one of three project options.

Social Studies

What We Learned This Past Month:

Students have learned about the United States geographical regions, the continents, and the oceans. Students examined various Native American Tribes and noticed their daily life based on the environment they lived in. Students are learning about the African Empires including Mali, Songhai, and Ghana.

What We Will Be Learning Next Month: 

This quarter we will be focusing on European exploration, Colonial America, and the American Revolution. We will learn about the impacts exploration has on the people who already live on those lands, the role of wealth and power influence exploration and colonization, and how people resist injustice.