Reading: We'll continue reading about the American Revolution through narratives, informational text, and poetry. One highlight, which we didn't get to last week will be our reading of the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." We'll also read about Molly Pitcher, the mythical woman who supplied the patriots water and then later worked the cannon to continue fighting the British at Monmouth. 

English Language Arts MCAS this week!
Monday is session 1, Thursday is session 2. Students should bring a healthy snack, a high energy snack, a bottle of water, and an engaging book to read.

When students are not taking MCAS, we'll be working on the following:

Reading: We'll continue reading about the American Revolution through narratives, informational text, and poetry. One highlight will be our reading of the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." We'll learn more about similes and figurative language. We'll also practice vocabulary strategies.

Writing: Students will write short summaries of the texts we read. In particular, we'll practice writing a summary of an important revolutionary battle in the form of a news article.

Math: We continue learning about fraction addition and subtraction. This week we'll learn how to add and subtract mixed numbers and turn fractions into their simplest form. We'll also play a fraction card game similar to Black Jack.

Phase two of our American Revolution project will begin. See previous plans below for more information on the project. I will be posting the Phase 1 results shortly.

Here is the plan for this week:

Reading: Continue reading about the American Revolution. Identify fact and opinion from readings about the events of the revolution.

Also, we'll practice reading selections and analyzing them in preparation for the MCAS next week.

Writing: We'll work on responding to our reading using specific examples from the text as support. In particular, we'll practice answer MCAS open response questions fully in order to achieve the top score of a 4.

Math: We continue learning how to add and subtract fractions. Last week I discovered students had minimal foundational understanding of fractions, so we had to go a lot slower than I anticipated. We'll work on finding common denominators, estimating, and converting improper fractions to mixed numbers.

Report cards will be coming out at the end of this week or beginning of next week.

In this project, students will work in a mix of cooperative groups and partnerships on a range of activities that explore the following:

1. The causes of the American Revolution, such as the French & Indian War, the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts. 
   
2. Important figures such as John Adams,  Benjamin Franklin,  King George III,  Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson,  James Madison, and George Washington.

1. Major battles such as Lexington and Concord (1775), Bunker Hill (1775), Saratoga (1777), Valley Forge (1777-1778), and Yorktown (1781).
   
2. The meaning of the American Revolution and the founding of our modern democracy.

In their teams, students will earn Revolutionary Dollars for the successful completion of activities and assignments. They will also earn Revolutionary Dollars for dressing in colonial attire and using colonial language. The team with the most Revolutionary Dollars at the end of the project will be praised as the Leaders of the Revolution.

Last week was a climactic week. We finished up our colonies projects. We finished our study of decimal multiplication and division in math. And we had a wonderful experience on our field trip to the Commonwealth Museum to learn about Massachusetts history and the start of the American Revolution.

Here is the plan for the week:

Reading: We'll dive into reading response practice, which helps students prepare for the MCAS. We'll learn how to determine main ideas, decipher the meaning of new words, and analyze text elements using past MCAS tests and other reading selections.

We'll also read selections about the American Revolution and its causes.

Writing: Written reading response. To accompany our reading response practice, we'll learn how to explain, analyze, and synthesize through writing. We'll response to selected reading and grade our own responses based on models.

Math: We begin our study of fractions. This week we'll investigate fraction concepts using models and fraction sticks. We will model fraction addition and subtraction with fraction sticks and learn how to estimate fraction addition and subtraction.

In-Class Project: 
The American Revolution
Revolutions are pivotal events that change the course of history. The American Revolution, a time of political upheaval and war between Great Britain and rebellious colonists, remains one of the most momentous events in modern history. The ideals of the rebelling colonists inspired demands for justice and self-determination around the globe, with the quest for liberty and democracy continuing today.
 
In this project, students will work in a mix of cooperative groups and partnerships on a range of activities that explore the following:

1. The causes of the American Revolution, such as the French & Indian War, the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts. 
   
2. Important figures such as John Adams,  Benjamin Franklin,  King George III,  Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson,  James Madison, and George Washington.
   
3. Major battles such as Lexington and Concord (1775), Bunker Hill (1775), Saratoga (1777), Valley Forge (1777-1778), and Yorktown (1781).
   
4. The meaning of the American Revolution and the founding of our modern democracy.

In their teams, students will earn Revolutionary Dollars for the successful completion of activities and assignments. They will also earn Revolutionary Dollars for dressing in colonial attire and using colonial language. The team with the most Revolutionary Dollars at the end of the project will be praised as the Leaders of the Revolution.