We are so glad to see everyone back and hope that all had a great Spring Break!  We are in the home stretch and it is time to really stay focused and finish out the year. Below are a few things to know and our learning goals for the week.

• Please send a healthy, nut-free snack with your child daily.
• ELA and Math packets should be completed and signed each day.
• Please make sure that if you are signing off on your child's agenda, indicating that they completed all homework,  that study for any upcoming assessments.
• All word work groups have the same words this week. We are focusing on words that are commonly found on assessments. Students will not be tested o how to spell the word, but on what the word means.

Learning Targets for the Week:

• Reading- Test Taking Genre- Reviewing all standards and what good test takers need to know (ways in which questions and directions are worded, what is expected of test takers etc) RL10/RI10
• Science- Solar System (Test Friday- study study guide and classroom notes in journal)     S4E2a-d/ S4E1a-d
• Writing- Responding to various prompts (informational, opinion, narrative review)
• Math- Angle measures and finding missing angles. MD6/MD7 (quiz Friday)
• ELA- Test taking vocabulary-study word meanings. (quiz vocabulary)

Key words found in test questions 

• COMPARE Look for similarities and differences between.
  
  
  CONTRAST        To Look for differences between.
  
  
  DEFINE     The precise meaning of the word or phrase.
  
  
  DESCRIBE Give a detailed account.
  
  
  EXPLAIN   Tell how things work or how they came to be the way they are.
  
  
  IDENTIFY Pick out the key features of something.
  
  
  SUMMARIZE Give a concise account of the main points of the matter, omitting details and examples.
  
  
  VERSE Writing organized in a rhythmic pattern, as often is the case in poetry.
  
  
  RHYTHM The regular, repeated sounds of words in a poem.
  
  
  METER A rhythm that repeats a basic pattern in a poem.
  
  
  FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE You need to distinguish between literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases. Literal refers to the actual meaning of words and phrases. Figurative language requires you to analyze the words and sometimes make comparisons.
  
  
  Some examples of figurative language are similes and metaphors.
  
  
  SIMILES make a comparison using a linking word such as like or as. (Her shirt was as green as the grass.)
  
  
  METAPHORS make a comparison without a linking word. Not literal. EX: The clouds were whipped cream,” The clouds looked like whipped cream, but they were not literally whipped cream.
  
  

Allergy season is in full swing and we could really use tissues for the class. If you could please donate a box of tissues, we would all appreciate it!  We could also use more glue sticks. We go through them quickly. Thank you so much for your generosity!