This week we will look at the growth of the country under the first two presidents, focusing on issues that needed to be dealt with in creating and establishing the new Constitution and forging a nation from a group of independent states.

The bulk of the next 2 weeks will be taken up with CSAP testing.  We will have regular schedules on Wednesday and Friday. This week we will begin our study of the nervous system, focusing on the brain.  This Wednesday we will continue looking at Supreme Court cases that impact us today. 

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.