This week we will finish discussing the constitution, focusing on the rights and responsibilities given to the government & the rights of the individual guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Students should expect to have homework every night.

This week we will be focusing on the Constitutional Convention: the key participants, the passions and compromises, evidence of the influence of past events, and how those things are still present in our government and country today. We will also continue to follow the candidates in the presidential primaries and discuss events as they unfold.

This week we will begin discussing the post-revolutionary war period and how it lead to the development and writing of the constitution. Our Valentine’s Day party is Thursday at 1:30. Please let me know if you would like to attend. Friday is our field trip to the museum: bring a lunch!

This week we will finish studying the circulatory system, with a test on Friday. Students have been given a word bank list to help guide them in their studies.  We will continue following and discussing the primary election process, noting the outcomes of Super Tuesday.

This week we will continue studying the circulatory system, focusing on the veins, arteries, and parts of the heart. We will continue following and discussing the primary election process, noting the outcomes of the South Carolina and Florida primaries.

The end of the trimester project will be a joint Theme/Language Arts research report.  Students should have chosen a topic and will need to bring all resources to school Wednesday.  Some students will have changed their topic due to adding "anything related to the human body" as topic choices.  Most of the research will be conducted through Theme, and the writing will be done in Language Arts.

This week we will be using the PBS show Liberty! The American Revolution to provide us with graphic background to discuss key events, locations, and people of the revolution.  There are a variety of good videos on this topic, but this one has actors that when they speak, are quoting primary source material; information gleaned from letters, diaries, journals, and newspapers of the time. 

*Book orders due Wednesday.

This week we will be using Kids Discover American Revolution, the computer program Liberty’s Kids, videos, and on-line sources to view and discuss key events, locations, and people of the revolution.

This week we will be focusing on the Second Continental Congress and the Declaration of Independence. The students will be preparing plays to present to each other and we will be discussing the credibility of different primary sources.  Primary source credibility form will be the homework T-TH.

The students will be doing a Secret Santa in class, starting on Tuesday. Friday is our holiday party.  Please email me if you would like to attend the party.

Wishing you a pleasant and restful Winter Break!

This week we will be working on invention and inventors, the revolutionary war, and will be applying our own creative thinking in our “Trash to Treasure” projects. Today we discussed the mousetrap and other inventions that have remained relatively unchanged over time.  We also discussed the purpose of patents and discussed some recent patent issues (Apple/Microsoft, Chipotle/Qdoba).

Next week we will be doing a Secret Santa in class, starting on Tuesday.  Students may not spend more than $4 on their Secret Santa gifts (total).

I will be out of school Wednesday-Friday.  If you require assistance before next week, please contact our team lead, Mrs. Westdyke, and she will assist you as much as she can.

We survived Keystone with fun stories to tell and a renewed appreciation of how living things are interconnected.

This week we will spend a lot of time working on our research projects.  Please make sure your child comes to school each day prepared for that.  Students should have collected general information on their topics, and should be ready to start looking for more detailed, more unusual information.  This might require an extra trip to the library.

We will have some time each day in the computer lab for students to begin working on their bullet page.  If your child has something to save it on, it will make it easier to work on both and home and at school.