Perseverance

We spurn despair and strive to complete tasks to the best of our abilities, regardless of the difficulty. We respond creatively to overcome obstacles and ask for help when necessary.

Quote of the Week

“So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s a Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed!) Kid, you’ll move mountains!”

~Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go

Monday, March 18, 2013

Week of March 18-22


Language Arts: This week, we will study Chapter 3 of GYV titled, “Skin, Blood, and Other Things”
Latin / Greek Word
Root
Derivatives
kardia
(heart)
card
cardiologist, cardiovascular
haima
(blood)
hem
em
anemia, hemorrhage
derma
(skin)
derm
epidermis, dermatology,  
natus
(born)
nat
Prenatal, neonatal  
Affixes
Suffix: “-ist“ means “one who studies something”
Prefix: “a-” or “an-” means “without”
Prefix: “epi-” means “on, beside, after, around”
Suffix: “-logy” means “the study of” or “the science of”
Prefix: “neo-” means “new”

We will begin our next novel this week, A Wrinle in Time. Please make sure your child has it by Tuesday, as we will begin reading it promptly. The students will complete a similar project to that of our last novel. Each child will have a Reader’s Portfolio for this book, where they will keep all of their comprehension questions, journals, vocabulary, characterization activities, literary element tasks, etc. There will not be a 100 point project for this book.
            In Writing, we will focus on the persuasive writing style. The students will spend this week working on a writing project that includes persuading a parent to extend their bedtime. (Please let me know if they’ve succeeded at persuading you at home! *Please know that this is certainly not my goal. :D*)
                In Grammar, our focus will be on understanding and identifying object pronouns in context. The students will also work on changing the tense of text. As always, we will move forth in our study of word origins. The idiom your child will learn this week is “go to town”.

History/Geography: We are picking up right where we left off with the Civil War unit. This week, we will learn about generals from both sides of the war: Lee, Jackson, and Grant. The students will learn more about the soldiers on each side and learn details such as the men’s’ ages, the salaries they earned, the uniforms they wore, and the weapons they fought with. On Thursday, we will take a closer look at the role of women during the war. On Friday, we will have our Civil War celebration by enjoying Johnny cakes and playing classic children’s games from the era of the Civil War.

Science: We are moving along in our nervous system unit. The students will learn about various parts of the brain; these include: the cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, meninges, and pituitary gland. They will participate in a lab that includes dissecting a brain!!! (A Jello brain, that is. ;D) The test over this body system will be on Monday of next week.