November

In this month dedicated to Thanksgiving, let us begin by thanking our wonderful Room Moms for an extremely fun, festive, and special party. We were “treated” to an awesome Halloween party full of hanging ghosts, mummifying, and treats.  Thanks to all of you who made October a “hauntingly happy” month.

And here’s what we’ve been doing when we aren’t partying….

MATH

        Our study of integers, equations and graphing will conclude with a test. Then we will move into Number Theory and Fractions. This will be a review of concepts studied in 5th grade, so we hope to move quickly into application and extension.

        Students in Pre-Algebra are moving into Rational Numbers involving fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals. They are also maintaining mastery of 6th grade concepts.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We’ve started reading our first novel, Egypt Game.  We are working on summarizing skills, characterization, vocabulary, and other comprehension skills throughout the novel.  Our final is scheduled for Friday, November 20th and our “Egypt in a Bag…” project is due on Monday, November 23rd. When we complete our novel, we will move back to the anthology reading Theme 2: “What Really Happened?”

SOCIAL STUDIES

We are beginning our study of the first of our major civilizations – Mesopotamia.  Students have already learned some of the gifts given to us by the Ancient Mesopotamians – the 60 second minute – the 60 minute hour – the 360 degree circle!  They were the first civilization to have written language.  They invented the wheel, the potter’s wheel, and the plow.

HEALTH

        The next health unit is entitled “Eat Smart, Look Great!”  We will be reviewing the food pyramid and focusing on making healthier choices.  Looking at the effects certain foods have on our bodies (positive and negative), we will investigate advertisements and learn to better decode food labels to help us further succeed with our life choices.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

        Now that we have the balance and rhythm, the focus of our next series of skills will be jumping, throwing and catching.  We will use skills from many sports to exercise and practice our manipulative skills.

SCIENCE

            This month, the students will be learning about Thermal Energy and Heat.  During this unit, they will be recognizing and distinguishing between types of energy.  In addition, they will be describing and explaining how energy transfers from one place to another and how it can change from one form to another.  All of this will be wrapped up with a thermal energy section that is sure to keep their minds (and bodies) moving.