Room 322 at Endeavor Elementary School

1. clock
2. large
3. page
4. mark
5. kitten
6. judge
7. crack
8. edge
9. pocket
10. brake
11. change
12. ridge
13. jacket
14. badge
15. orange

Challenge Words

16. freckles
17. advantage
18. pledge
19. Kentucky
20. kingdom

This week’s list consists of words with the consonant sounds /j/ and /k/.

Vocabulary words

blade  a leaf of grass
budding  putting forth small swellings on a plant that will grow into leaves, branches, or flowers
dew  the moisture from the air that collects in small drops on cool surfaces during the night
fireflies  small insects that give off flashes of light when they fly
flutter  to flap the wings
notepad  a small book of blank or lined sheets of paper in which you write notes or things that you need to learn or remember
patch  a small piece of ground that is different from what surrounds it

As November turns into December, I’m amazed at how much we’ve done over the past 15 weeks together.  The grading period ends in about 3 weeks–incredible.

This week we’re looking at a Native American legend called Pushing Up the Sky.  It’s in the format of a play, so we should have a pretty good time with it.  We’re working with author’s purpose and summarizing as our comprehension skills.

In language we’re continuing to work with verbs.  We’ve worked with active and linking verbs; this week we’re looking at helping verbs.

In math we’re continuing to work with multiplication.  We’ll take our test on chapter 8 during the first half of the week before moving into chapter 9.  We’ve also been doing quite a bit with various AMSTI investigations.  I’m happy with the blend of investigations and direct instruction we’re experiencing.  As always, please continue to work on “the facts.”

Here are our spelling and vocabulary words for the week:

1. unhappy
2. recall 
3. disappear
4. unload
5. mistake
6. misspell
7. dislike
8. replace
9. mislead
10. disagree
11. rewrite
12. unroll
13. unknown
14. dishonest
15. react

Challenge Words

16. unfortunate
17. discourage
18. uncomfortable 
19. recycle
20. mispronounce

This week’s list consists of words with prefixes.

Vocabulary words

antlers  bony, branching growths on the head of a male deer, elk, or moose
imagined  made a picture or idea of something in your mind
languages  human speech, spoken or written
narrator  the person who tells a story
overhead  over the head; on high; above
poked  pushed with force against someone or something

Fall is in the air (at least in the mornings), and we’re headed toward the holidays!  It’s hard to believe that the school year is more than 1/3 of the way finished.  Incredible.

This week in reading we’re looking at a story that will make us think of Spring, not Fall.  It’s called The Gardener and it tells of a girl who uses her “green thumb” to make folks smile.  We’re looking at cause and effect as our comprehension skill.

In language we’re starting a formal look at verbs as well as contractions.

Math will see us continue to work with multiplication as well as time, money, and measurement.

Make up day for Fall pictures is Wednesday.

Here’s our spelling and vocabulary words for this week (I’ll be back later to update the rest of the week’s activities):

1. let’s

2. he’d

3. you’ll

4. can’t

5. I’d

6. you’d

7. haven’t

8. hasn’t

9. she’d

10. they’ll

11. when’s

12. we’d

13. they’d

14. wasn’t

15. didn’t

Challenge Words

16. should’ve

17. would’ve

18. could’ve

19. needn’t

20. you’ve

This week’s list consists of words with contractions

Vocabulary words

• beauty  quality that makes a person or thing pleasing to look at
• blooming  the opening of flowers on a plant
• bulbs  the round parts of some plants that are underground
• doze  to sleep lightly or for a short time
• humor  the ability to enjoy funny things
• recognizing  know and remember from the past
• showers  brief rain fall
• sprouting  beginning to grow

To the veterans reading this, let me start by saying “Thank You” for your service. I hope your Veterans’ Day  holiday is a good one.  We are, of course, taking the day off on Wednesday.  Enjoy your day–we’re supposed to have beautiful weather!

This week is a review and unit testing week.  We’ll spend most of the first half of the week reviewing the reading comprehension skills we’ve worked during the last 5 weeks.  We’ll start our test on Thursday and finish on Friday. 

In language, we’ll review the unit as well as continue to emphasize possessive nouns. They can be tricky, but the class is doing well with them.

We’re into multiplication full swing; it’s going well so far, and I think we’re all enjoying it.  We’ll be emphasizing “the facts” for the next few months; I’m fairly certain we’ll be sitting in great shape by Christmas.  We’ll also spend some time this week with money and elapsed time.

Our plants are doing well, and will continue to recieve a lot of attention this week in science.  Our Fast Plants have started to flower and we’ll be pollinating them in a week or so.

Here’s our list of review spelling words:

1. finish

2. climate

3. people

4. middle

5. gentle

6. English

7. weather

8. alphabet

9. example

10. railroad

11. blueberry

12. earthquake

13. strength

14. square

15. squeeze

This week’s list consists of review words from unit 2

Do I dare hope for a calmer week?  A week with fewer distractions?  This could be it!

Last week was good.  The GIVE program went well, as did Red Ribbon Week.  The students, of course, especially seemed to enjoy Friday since it was character dress up day. 

This week looks to be a little bit more along the lines of routine week.  In reading, we’re wrapping up Unit 2 with a story entitled William’s House.  It’s a piece of historical fiction that describes the lives of the earlier settlers to this continent.  We’re looking at “asking questions” and “drawing conclusions” as our comprehension strategies.

In language, we’re working with plural possessive nouns.  Remember, a noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea.  Plural means that it refers to more than one.  Possessive means that it shows ownership or a connection to another noun.  Needless to say, the students’ knowledge of nouns will increase!

In math, we’re wrapping up subtraction and moving into multiplication and division full swing.  We’ll also be covering time as well as money.  …always a good time!

Our plants have sprouted and should be looking good for open house on Tuesday evening.  We’re continuing our AMSTI investigations and looking at food chains and the life cycle of plants this week.

Here are our spelling and vocabulary words for this week:

1. father

2. chapter

3. other

4. alphabet

5. watch

6. English

7. weather

8. catch

9. fashion

10. shrink

11. pitcher

12. flash

13. athlete

14. trophy

15. nephew

Challenge Words

16. northern

17. establish

18. emphasis

19. hyphen

20. challenge

This week’s list consists of words with digraphs sh, th, ph, ch, and tch

Vocabulary words

• barrels large, round wooden containers with curved sides
• cellar room built underground
• clearing a piece of land free of trees and bushes
• pegs pieces of wood driven into a surface to hold things
• spoil to become bad or not fit to eat or use
• steep having a very sharp slope

Wow, we’re wrapping up the month of October.  Time is certainly flying by: frost in the morning, starting multiplication, and planning for “character dress up day” on Friday.  It must be Autumn.

This week’s a busy week, but, then again, they all are it seems.  We’ve got the GIVE program this week.  A letter from the Madison County District Attorney went home on Friday concerning this activity.  If you have any questions about it, just let me know.

In reading this week, we’re working with one of my favorite stories, Tops and Bottoms.  It’s about a rabbit, a bear, and a business deal gone awry (for the bear, at least).  Author’s Purpose and Predict are our two comprehension strategies.

In language, we’re looking at possessive nouns. Always a good time!

Math will see us working with subraction and multiplication with a smattering of time and geometry thrown in to add a little spice.

Science this week: plants, plants, and more plants! We’ll put our Wisconsin Fast Plants into the soil on Monday or Tuesday; the beans we planted on Friday should be putting down roots by now.

1. splash

2. throw

3. three

4. square

5. throat

6. strike

7. street

8. split

9. splurge

10. thrill

11. strength

12. squeak

13. throne

14. strawberry

15. squeeze

Challenge Words

16. squid

17. squander

18. arthritis

19. instrument

20. strategy

 This week’s list consists of words with spl, thr, squ, and str

 Vocabulary words

•  bottom  the lowest part
• cheated  tricked someone; acted in a way that is not honest
• clever  bright; intelligent
• crops  plants grown for food
• lazy  not willing to work or move fast
• partners  members of a company who share the risks and profits of the business
• wealth  riches

It’s going to be an interesting week! We’ve got quite a bit on our plates this week, no doubt about it.  In addition to our normal routine, we’ve got a field trip to the bowling alley on Tuesday and the “Weather House” will be on campus this week.  Lots to do!

In reading we’re working with a story called Prudy’s Problem and How She Solved It.  The title pretty much so says it all–any more info and I’ll be giving away the plot.  It’s a fantasy story, and the comprehension strategies we’ll be emphasizing are “Main Idea” and “Monitor and Fix Up.”

In language, we’re working with improper plural nouns.  For example: “I’ve got a sheep in my field, and my neighbor has 5 sheep in her field.”  No one has “sheeps,” just sheep…

In math we’re learning about subtraction.  One of my favorite things to teach is “subtracting across zero.”  A problem looks like 204 – 146 = ?  Regrouping is a challenge, because you don’t have anything to borrow from in the “tens” column.  Fun stuff!

Here are our spelling and vocabulary words:

1. sunglasses

2. football

3. homework

4. haircut

5. popcorn

6. railroad

7. snowstorm

8. earring

9. scarecrow

10. blueberry

11. butterflies

12. lawnmower

13. campground

14. sandbox

15. toothbrush

Challenge Words

16. thumbtack

17. earthquake

18. scrapbook

19. courthouse

20. whirlpool

This week’s list consists of compound words.

• collection a gathering of items that are similar in some way
• enormous very large; huge
• realize to understand clearly
• scattered spread about in various places
• shiny bright and polished
• strain to draw too tight; stretch too much

Just a note to let everyone know that grades are posted.  The “flu folks” have a few things to make up, but everything else is in STI. The grading period ends on Friday!

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a great Fall Break.  It was nice to “get away,” but I wish we had a bit more sunshine.  Oh well, it’s nice to see cooler weather coming–winter is just around the corner!

This week’s reading story is called A Day’s Work.  It’s about a boy and his grandfather who try to do an honest day’s work, but things don’t go as the boy planned.  He learns a valuable lesson about telling the truth.  We’re studying “character” and “visualizing” as comprehension strategies as we work with this story.

In math we’re continuing to work with addition and subtraction.  We’ve taken a brief look at multiplication and division; before we move that direction too far I’m really encouraging the students to continue to work with their addition facts.  We’ve been emphasizing that in our classwork; please look at them at home as well.

In science this week we’re starting to look at plants.  Our next AMSTI investigation kit will cover plants as well.

Here are this week’s spelling and vocabulary words:

1. handle

2. trouble

3. simple

4. people

5. middle

6. table

7. little

8. gentle

9. poodle

10. pickle

11. noodle

12. saddle

13. juggle

14. uncle

15. riddle

Challenge Words

16. example

17. throttle

18. obstacle

19. miracle

20. muscle

This week’s list consists of words that end with -le

Vocabulary words

• excitement  the state of stirred up emotions
• gardener  a person who works in or takes care of a garden
• motioned  directed by wave of hand or another gesture
• sadness  a state of sorrow or regret
• shivered  shook, trembled
• shocked  surprised or horrified
• slammed  thrown loudly with force

As we move into the last week before fall break, we’ll be working with a story called Penguin Chick.  It’s a non-fiction story about, well, penguin chicks.  Our comprehension skills that we’ll be working on this week include main idea/details and graphic organizers.  In math we’re wrapping up both Chapter 3 and the first unit.  The chapter 3 test will be this week, and we’ll have the unit 1 test when we get back from fall break.  In science we’re wrapping up our study of the human body with a few more models; we’ll take that test later this week.  Finally, we’ll finish our look at chapter 1 in social studies with a test on chapter 1 on Thursday or Friday.

This week’s spelling and vocabulary words:

1. finish

2. pilot

3. even

4. wagon

5. music

6. silent

7. rapid

8. female

9. lemon

10. pupil

11. focus

12. robot

13. tulip

14. camel

15. salad

Challenge Words

16. resident

17. spinach

18. climate

19. tradition

20. innocent

 This week’s list consists of words with the V/CV and VC/V syllable patterns

 Vocabulary words

•  cuddles  holds close and tenderly
• flippers  broad, flat limbs on a penguin used for swimming and moving along on land
• frozen  hardened with cold; turned into ice
• hatch  to come from an egg
• pecks  strikes something with the beak in a quick, short motion
• preen  to smooth or clean with the beak
• snuggles  holds closely for warmth, protection, or affection