January 13th ~ 17th

NWEA ~ We will be taking our winter benchmark NWEA assessments this week. We will start with Language on Monday, then Math on Wednesday, and wrap up with Reading on Friday. The kids may chew gum during the assessments, so have them bring a pack of gum on Monday if they wish.

Scholastic Book Order ~ Don't forget to return your book order forms - or order online. The kids glanced at the order forms before they were sent home and made their "wish lists". I will place the classroom order on Wednesday. All classroom orders from Scholastic help add books to our classroom library. Thanks for your support!

Upcoming Events ~
PTA Meeting this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the library.
End of 2nd quarter this Friday.
Report cards go home next Wednesday.
Poly Drive Talent Show tryouts - Tuesday January 28th and Thursday January 30th from 3:00 to 4:30 in the library.
Poly Drive Talent Show at Lewis & Clark Middle School on Thursday February 27th.

Spelling ~ Unit 16: We will take a pretest on Monday, work with our word lists and vocabulary throughout the week, and take a final test on Friday. The students utilize a combination of written work from the spelling book and online practice with Spelling City.
5th: VV Pattern
6th: Prefix -com
Language ~ We will work with the Latin roots - vers, verse, and vert. The kids will have a written assignment on Monday.
5th: Possessive Pronouns : Written assignments on Monday and Wednesday.
6th: Adverbial Phrases and Prepositions : Written assignments on Monday and Wednesday.
Reading ~ We are beginning our novel units. Both novel genres are historical fiction that take place during WWII. The students will have daily reading and written assignments for their books. I will meet with groups throughout the week to discuss the book and hone our comprehension strategies.
5th: Milkweed ~ The kids will read through chapter 19 this week (they are short chapters). This story takes place in Warsaw, Poland at the time of the invasion by the Nazis.
6th: Number the Stars ~ The kids will read through chapter 6 this week. The setting of this book is in Denmark during the Nazi occupation.
On Wednesday, we will all read and discuss a poem, First They Came for the Jews.
Math ~
5th: We will continue to work with fractions. Topics this week include equivalent fractions and greatest common factor. There will be written assignments on Monday and Tuesday and a group activity on Thursday.
6th: We will begin working with ratios and proportions this week. The kids will have a written assignment on Monday and complete group work on Tuesday and Thursday.
Social Studies ~ The 6th graders will continue working on their Egyptian god/goddess reports. The reports and projects are due on Thursday and the kids will share their projects and selected information about their god/goddess with the class.
Science ~ We will be wrapping up our study of Chemistry over the next two weeks. We will read about acids, bases, salts, and acid rain on Monday and the kids will complete an Investigation Review assignment. We will perform a hands-on activity on Friday, read about plastics and polymers, and complete another Investigation Review assignment.

Have a wonderful week!