Spring is here! Spring is here! … Okay, it doesn’t really feel like that outside, but, still – SPRING IS HERE! All of us in the H5 family are excited about warmer temperatures, fresh flowers, special events, and, of course, Spring Break. This is one of my favorite times of year, and I am so glad to share it with your children this year!

We have plenty of learning to do between now and Spring Break. I’m looking forward to exploring the following topics this week:

Reading and Social Studies. We are combining these two subjects for our Westward Expansion unit to maximize our learning! We’re reading several different texts, to learn why American pioneers moved west and how their movements affected the rest of the nation. As we read, we’re taking notes based on how the author structured the text—main idea/details, cause and effect, sequence, or compare/contrast. I’m especially excited about helping the students use primary documents to investigate the sad story of the Indian Removal Act, and using a computer simulation to find out what it was like to move west on the Oregon Trail!

Writing. We’re taking it somewhat easy this week to give the kids (and Ms. Matthews!) time to recover from PASS Writing. Each day, we are learning about and trying an element of figurative language used by our hero, Super-Writer! This will prepare us to read and write poetry after Spring Break.

Language. We’re venturing into the confusing, yet practical, world of pronouns!

Word Study. Most students are studying words with the Greek roots TELE, PHON, PHOTO, and GRAPH.

Hello, everyone! It's going to be a wonderful week!

- Writing: We are taking the PASS Writing Test this Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19 and 20. I am so proud of the progress my students have made this year, and I know they are ready to knock the socks off of this thing! You can help your child feel prepared on the day of the test by making sure he/she gets a good night's rest and a solid breakfast. Be sure to arrive at school in plenty of time and to avoid absences and early dismissals. Thank you for your support!
- Word Study: Taking a break this week. :) Next week, we'll be back in action with a study of Greek and Latin roots!
- Reading: We'll use a variety of Social Studies texts to practice questioning, using text structure to understand an author's message, and locating specific facts and details.
- Social Studies: We are charging full-speed ahead with our study of how America grew and developed as a nation! We will focus particularly on the conflicts and agreements that led to our acquisition of new land, as well as the reasons why so many Americans wanted to move west.

I hope everyone's week has gotten off to a great start! For the next few days, we will be extra-focused on Language Arts, particularly writing and language. However, Ms. Gibson and I are busy developing an awesome study of Westward Expansion for Social Studies that will allow us to put our non-fiction text-reading skills to work soon! In the meantime, here's what we're working on:

Reading - We are wrapping up our study of inferences and The Keeping Room. I have REALLY enjoyed the discussions we've had and am proud of my students for growing mature in their thinking about how to handle conflict.

Hello, families! We had a fantastic, jam-packed 5 days of learning last week. I am especially proud of how much my students have grown in their understanding of the American Revolution. I invite you to visit the "Slices of Life" blog on this website to get a peek at what they created to show what they learned!

Our goals for this week:
Reading - Use context clues and Greek/Latin roots to determine the meanings of unknown words.
Word Study - Students will either study contractions or Greek/Latin roots depending on their performance on a brief contractions pre-assessment.
Language - We will briefly survey adjectives and pronouns, but our focus will be centering on PASS-style Language questions, since that test is rapidly approaching. (See the "Important Info" page for more details.)
Writing - Again, we are practicing for PASS Writing by planning responses to a variety of different prompts. Every few days, students will select one of the plans they've created and write a full essay based on that. The goal is to help students get comfortable creating an organized piece about any topic.
Social Studies - We will quickly review the development and components of the U.S. Constitution. We spent a good deal of time on this subject at the beginning of the year, before elections, so this will just be a reminder of what we already know.