Today every student got a new set of Wordly Wise words. For the next eight weeks, instead of doing our traditional wordly wise words, we are going to be exploring Latin and Greek roots of words and learning how they make up many of the words that we use today. Every week, your child will bring home a new packet of words and their definitions. They are expected to know the Latin or Greek root along with the meaning of the root. Then, there are 3 words per root that will be taught along with a definition. Your child will have the opportunity to complete activities with these words during class time and homework until the following Thursday when we will have a test. The test will be structured similarly to the tradition wordly wise tests that they are used to. They will be asked to give me the Latin or Greek root after reading what it means, and will have a portion with definitions that they must match with the words and then use in a sentence. A different section will have a sentence that I will have written using the definition. The students will be expected to replace the definition with the appropriate word. Also, one section will include the Latin or Greek phrase that will be taught throughout the week. There may or may not be a bonus section on each quiz. We spend a long time today in class on the new words for the week, and I am hopeful that this will prove to be a beneficial change to your child's learning. Please know that they are going to be asked to write sentences with the words over the weekends. Today, there was no time to complete it in class so you might want to check out the words with your child this weekend.
Math: We will be working on coordinate planes next week. There will be a test on Friday.
Science: We are going to begin our study of Matter, sol 5.4 this week. This is my favorite science unit to teach and I hope to be able to do a final week of chemistry experiments at the end of the year. This will be based on how well the students love the material.
Please continue to reinforce positive behavior at home. While we have had better days in the classroom and the hallway for about a week, there are still some sticky patches in our day. Thank you so much for your support!