Curriculum Update March 31-April 4

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

 Assessments are right around the corner. The dates are:
Reading Assessment April 7th & 8th 9:00-11:00
Math Assessment April 16th & 17th 9:00-11:00
MAP Assessment April 28-30 9:00-10:30

Please try not to schedule any appointments during this time.

ELA/Science We are continuing our life cycles unit. The students have been observing their lady bugs, preying mantis and beetles and discussing the stages they are in. Students will complete a web quest this week where they will create their own species, press release and describe its life cycle. They will film their butterfly exercise videos this week.

The students will continue to conduct and answer questions as they read about life cycles and gather their research on their web quest.

The students will be writing an informative paper through a press release about the life cycle of a species they create and will also be writing from the perspective of a species in different traits.

Students will also continue to work in their novel books where they are discussing character motives and predicting what they think will happen in the future.

Math
Students will continue to learn about area this week. They will calculate the area of objects and compare it to its perimeter. They students have been working in differentiated groups, playing games and working on projects at their level.

Spelling/Vocabulary
Both tests are on Friday.

traits: a body feature passed on to an animal or plant from its parents
life cycle: all the parts of an animal's life from birth to death.
developing: to grow
birth: the act of being born; the act of coming into life
reproducing: to make or cause to exist again
digest: to break down food in the body.
egg: a round or oval mass from which young animals hatch
larva: the stage early in an insect's life when it looks like a worm
pupa: a stage in the life cycle of certain insects when the larva is changing into an adult
chrysalis: the inactive stage in the development of a butterfly or moth during which the larva is enclosed in a tough case from which a fully developed adult eventually emerges
adult: a fully grown person, animal or plant
compare: to examine how two or more people or things are alike and different
contrast: a difference; unlikeness
characteristic: a special feature or quality
adaptation: a trait that helps an animal or plant meet  its needs in the place where it lives
inherited: passed on from parents to their young

Have a fantastic week!