We've had a fun couple of weeks in my room despite the frigid temperatures outside!  Here's a recap of what we have been studying and what is coming up over the next few weeks:

Math: We finished up patterns and expressions and moved into the coordinate plane, ordered pairs, and transformations.  Please have your students practice at home on graph paper drawing reflections, translations, and rotations of geometric shapes.  Practice makes permanent!  We are currently working on assignments on www.studyisland.com. We will be assigning assignments on this site to be worked on at home.  The countdown to STAAR has begun and the more practice your student has, the better prepared they will be for the test.  Their usernames are firstinitiallastname@huggins (i.e. tmefford@huggins) and their passwords are the same as their AR password.  It can be accessed anywhere where there is an internet connection.  We are also visiting the computer lab for 40 minutes each week for those students who do not have internet access outside of school.

Social Studies: We finished up the "Diverse Peoples of the West" in the History Alive book and will be spending the next several weeks studying the Industrial Revolution with one project in the coming weeks: a brochure on the different inventions of the 1800s.  This will be both a take home/in-school project and will be due on Thursday, Feb. 13th.  We have also been building our ecocolumns and have the aquarium and terrarium sections set up.  We have fish and snails and are currently waiting on our plants to grow!

Science: We finished up the Earth and Moon with a neat Hands-On Science day in the lab.  We will spend the next several weeks studying the biomes of the world.  They are currently working in class in partners on a poster project that will be due Feb. 6th.  They were given a rubric and know the expectations for the project.

ELAR: We have been discussing Author's Purpose and point of view in Reading.  We are also working on persuasive texts and their characteristics.  The new nine weeks grading period has started and students should be reading for at least 30 minutes each night in order to reach their AR goal.  The AR goal is ONE grade that goes in on the last day of the nine weeks and is calculated based on the percentage of their goal that they met.

We are still needing supplies in class: 6 crates for organizing their work with hanging file folders, posterboard, and dry erase markers.  If you can provide any of these that would be greatly appreciated!

I will be starting STAAR tutuorials for those students that need it in Feb. I will send more information as soon as I have everything scheduled.  Don't forget that tonight is "Sonnapalooza" and that you still have time to sign up for our 5K, "Sweetheart Stroll" which will be held in Cross Creek Ranch next Saturday morning!