Students of the week will present their All About Me poster, that they made at school, to the class on Monday and on Friday may bring in a favorite item to share, read from a favorite book, or display a talent to the class.

This week in Math and Science/Social Studies:

Math– Students will take the middle of year district math assessment this week on Monday and Tuesday and then we will wrap up our fractions and decimals unit. Next week we will begin Geometry!

Science – Our next unit of study will be about Earth and how it changes. We will begin to study the moon this week.

This week in Language Arts:

READING: We finished our Reading Mid Year Benchmark last Friday, the results are scheduled to go home in the next few weeks. Fantasy book report and project are due this Friday, January 17th. The yellow report packet went home the first week of December. If it is lost, another copy can be found on Mrs. Stern's website. Students are only required to turn in the yellow packet and project for the grade, they can receive extra credit if they choose to put their presentation into a more formal format, ie. Written/Typed Book Report, Power Point, or other Multi-Media Presentation.

WRITING: We finished our Writing Benchmarks on Thursday. Students wrote a personal narrative and an expository text. These tests are not for a grade in the grade book, but will be used to pull students to receive individualized and small group instruction. We will be writing a "Readers Theater" script based on a scene from our literature circle books and will present them the end of the week.

SPELLING: This week's spelling words come from Unit 17. This week's spelling focus will be spelling patterns that make the /el/ sound (el, al, le) and the /er/ sound (er, or, ar). Spelling words for the week will be recorded by students in the far right column of the week's agenda. Pace Language Arts students will have an extra 8 words per week. Any students wishing to include the pace words into their spelling test may do so.

http://classroom.leanderisd.org/default.aspx?Nicole%20Taylor/Homework

http://classroom.leanderisd.org/default.aspx?Joanne%20Stern/HOMEWORK

All homework can be accessed online through our class websites (see homework links above). We will have 2 pages for Math and 2 pages for Language Arts each week. If you are unable to print the pages, students are encouraged to put answers on regular notebook paper and bring in the answers on Friday. If you won't have access to a computer during the week, please let your homeroom teacher know early in the week. ;)

Students can access their homeroom's class blog from home. The blog gives them an opportunity to practice writing and communication skills in an ever expanding digital world. We have discussed the importance of students using their best "netiquette"! Manners online are just as important as in person. "Treat others how you want to be treated!"

Mrs. Stern's Homeroom:

http://kidblog.org/SternsStarsBlockB/

password: Birthdate: yyyymmdd

Mrs. Taylor's Homeroom:

http://kidblog.org/SternsStarsBlockA/

password: Student ID#

room: 2208

phone: 512-570-6900

email: joanne.stern@leanderisd.org

website: http://classroom.leanderisd.org/default.aspx?Joanne%20Stern/Home

twitter: @sternsstars2013

room: 2210

phone: 512-570-6900

email: nicole.taylor@leanderisd.org

website: http://classroom.leanderisd.org/default.aspx?Nicole%20Taylor

twitter: @taylorsclass