Friday, November 4th Updates

Cluster 5

Cluster Announcements

Star Students of the Week

English/Language Arts

Nov 7th- Nov. 21st-

Students are continuing with their whole class novel, Warcross by Marie Lu. I would ask that, if possible, you please check-in with your student regarding their at home reading progress and commitment to keeping up with the daily reading. We are hoping that students will arrive to class each day, prepared for class, by having completed the reading. Click here to see a graph explaining the positive impact of reading just 20 minutes each day.

As we continue reading through our novel, students are working on developing their strength in CER writing. They are using (direct) evidence from the text to support their claim and trying “to reason”- the skill of explaining to the reader how their evidence proves the claim that they have made in their writing. It is a skill that we will practice throughout the year in preparation for high school and persuasive/argumentative writing.

As students are reading, they are focusing on character and setting- but the focus will soon change to include deeper elements of the plot (including conflicts). They have done a fantastic job learning from the mini-lessons included in the unit and hopefully this enthusiasm continues with their learning. I’ve very much enjoyed their engagement during our classwork.

We will continue for the next few weeks with Warcross and finish with a CER for the students to show their mastery (or improvements) in their writing.

Science

November 4, 2022

Students have just completed their Earth Science Unit Tests which assessed their understanding of the learning objectives for Term 1. Students can complete a retake of this assessment if additional work on these standards is needed.

Our last assignment is called the “Landform Life Story.” Students will research a particular landform to become an expert, create a slideshow and model, and present their work to the class on Wednesday, Nov 9, 2022. The rubric is below:

Landform Life Story Rubric

Learning Objectives for our last project this term:

I can explain and create models to show how the Earth is a dynamic system.
I can explain how the movement of tectonic plates created a specific landform.

Civics

November 4, 2022

It’s all about the Election in Civics. Our students have learned tough vocabulary including the words partisan, bipartisan and nonpartisan. They learned about the American political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, and defined conservative and liberal. Then, we learned about the 2022 election here in Massachusetts, making a list of all of the offices and candidates that we will be voting on next Tuesday, November 8. Students are also understanding the 4 ballot questions that we face. We encourage everyone to vote, of course!

We will finish up our Election 2022 unit by understanding presidential elections and analyzing their positions. Students will review the structure of government by creating presentations about people who serve in our government. Then, we shift from modern politics and government to history. Our next unit is all about the Origins of Democracy.

Current Learning Targets:

I can define key vocabulary related to elections.
I can name the major American political parties, and define key vocabulary related to the political spectrum.
I can identify who we elect to government office and when.
I can name questions and candidates on the Massachusetts state ballot.

Math - 11/4/22

During this week students have continued learning about scales, scale factor and dilations. We have talked about the relationship between these three vocabulary words and how they relate to one another. In addition, we are learning about the difference between two figures being similar or congruent. I am reminding students that congruent means the same and that similar means that the shapes are the same but that the side lengths are increasing or decreasing by the same amount. Students will also have the option to retake their test or Quiz from last week on Friday (11/4).

Next week, the students will continue to talk about complementary, supplementary and right angles. We will also be introducing slope and how we can find the slope of a line.

As always if you have any questions or concerns please let me know.

English Language Development classes

Developing (ELD 3)

Over the past week we worked on prepositional phrases and how they act to connect ideas in a story. We also read fables together working in pairs while practicing making summaries of what was read. We learned about using the past tense to convey meaning and practiced irregular verbs. For next week, we look forward to beginning work on comparing and contrasting the structure and meaning of a work of fiction across texts.

Expanding (ELD 4)

After giving kind, specific, and helpful feedback to their fellow poets, students are working on their second drafts of their Where I’m From poems. Next week they will explore Kwame Alexander’s poem Here’s What I Remember to practice making observations and inferences–vocabulary and skills which they use in science and social studies. By the end of next week, students will finalize their poems and publish them in Book Creator, a multimedia digital book-making tool. We hope to be able to share them with you during conferences!