Mrs. Westdyke’s Class
LANGUAGE ARTS: Students are doing a great job learning how to work effectively in Literature Circles. Please check PowerSchool to see how your student is doing thus far. This week, we will continue with the reading of Loser by Jerry Spinelli. A separate small group is working on Number the Stars. All students should have selected an individual novel for use on a semester project. This was due last Thursday. Individual student selections are noted in PowerSchool. Students will receive a list of possible projects at the end of this week. We will also have our first spelling list this week, with a quiz on Friday. The spelling words are taken from a list of high frequency words for books written at the 6th grade level.
MATH: We are have a great time working on math topics together. This week, we will continue our work on chapter 1 topics, including estimation and properties of multiplication and division. We will continue to practice with problem solving skills through daily Warm-Up activities. During class on Wednesday, we will work on our first Math Mystery puzzle. Students will work cooperatively in small groups to solve a puzzle using their collective math skills. Students will have homework on Monday and Thursday nights this week.
THEME: We have spent the past month focusing our learning on topics related to geology and the Earth. Students have become experts in talking about the layers of the Earth, plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, and rocks. This week we have the pleasure of working with a set of rocks, minerals and fossils on loan to Stargate from the Colorado School of Mines. We will also begin to introduce another key content area for the trimester – the ancient Maya. We will learn about their geography, culture, religion, art, architecture, food, clothing, games, recreation, and language, as well as other topics.