Early January ’10: Topics-of-Study...

Language Arts: Synonyms/Antonyms, Main Ideas, Commas/Quotation Marks/Apostrophes + Review of Prefixes/Root Words/Suffixes and Step Up to Writing Paragraphs

• Synonyms and Antonyms (movie), Synonyms, Squanky the Tooth Taker: Quiet Quest for Opposites, Squanky the Tooth Taker: Tooth Tally, Same Difference
• Main Idea (movie), Main Ideas, Summarize As You Read, Reading Nonfiction (movie)
• Power Proofreading, Punctuation Paintball, Comma Confusion
• Wordworks, Root Words, Short Circuit, Prefixes Say Plenty, Spelling with Suffixes, Fish Tanks, Spelling Prefixes, Rooting Out Words (review practice)
• Step Up to Writing, Step Up to Writing #2 (notes + examples)

Mathematics: Double-Digit Multiplication, Long Division, Fractions/Decimals, Prime Numbers + Review of Line Types, Radius & Diameter, Area

• Two Digit Multiplication Steps (review practice)
• Snork’s Long Division, Math Baseball
• Study Jams! (video), Basic Parts of a Whole (movie), What’s a Fraction?, Death to Decimals, Fishy Fractions: Fraction and Decimal Match, Comparing Fractions and Decimals, Fishy Fractions: Equivalent Fractions, Fresh Baked Fractions, The Decifractator, Saloon Snap, Tony Fraction (challenging fractions)
• Prime Factoring, Grid Game
• Lines (review practice), Matho (review of all geometry terms), Area and Perimeter, Everyday Area, Find the Area
• Trimester Two Math Helper (front), Trimester Two Math Helper (back)

Social Studies: Chapter Three –Exploration and Early Settlements

• Explorers/Newcomers, Settlements/Missions (vocabulary practice)
• Early California Explorers (Cabrillo, Cortes, Drake, Vizcaino; Cermeno here)
• Chapter Three Guideline Notes

Science: Chapter Six –Electricity

• Chapter Six Resources
• The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits, Conductors and Insulators, Series and Parallel Circuits, Building Circuits, Heat (movie), Light (movie), Electricity and Magnetism

Winter Break Homework...

Welcome to Winter Break! I hope everyone has a joyous holiday! As your children are aware, we do have a few items of homework over the next two weeks. All are simple, but essential!

* Read two AR chapter books and be ready for quizzes on Monday morning. All students already chose and wrote down their books on the back of the bright pink homework half-sheet.

* Practice cursive handwriting. Many of our current assignments will now be required in cursive, a fourth grade essential standard. Spelling assignments will start this transition.

* Practice multiplication and division facts. Nearly all of January will be spent practicing double-digit multiplication and long division.

* Review geometry flashcards. This light green packet of flashcards will help students review our other important mathematical studies.

See you all in 2010!

Holiday Multiplication Practice...

Gooey gum drop buttons! Each time you get a multiplication fact correct, another piece of the holiday scene is revealed! When you complete the level, you get to build your own holiday picture!

Happy Holidays Multiplication Practice