MAP Testing Date Announcement

Hi Family,

This is hot off the presses. Our Winter MAP will take place on Wednesday, February 8, 2017! Let's get pumped up.

-Ms. Shepard

Notes for this week's weekly quiz.

Hola Familia,

Here are some tidbits that may help with this week's weekly quiz. In writing, students need to know the following:

• In Social Studies, students need to know the following terms and their definitions.
• Geography- the study of everything on earth’s surface
• Environment- natural surroundings like air, land water, and plants
• Climate- the kind of weather a place usually has from year to year
• Landform- a shape or a type of land on earth’s surface
• Plateaus- like mountains but flat on top 
• Region- an area that has features that make it different from other areas
• Fall line- a place where land suddenly changes from high to low
• —What are three tasks a geographer may do? 
• A geographer makes maps 
• A geographer explores how physical features affect our lives 
• A geographer studies how humans affect the natural environment 
• —What other states are in the same region as Maryland?” 
• Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine 
• In what region is the Chesapeake Bay? 
• —Northeast Region
• How did the Delmarva peninsula get its name?
• The peninsula is a part of three different states. The name is a combination of those states’ names: Del (Delaware), mar (Maryland), va (Virginia)
• What two similar mountain ranges cross Western Maryland and are part of the Appalachian Mountains?
• The Allegheny Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains
• —What is the highest point in Maryland? How high is it? 
• —Backbone Mountain is the highest point in Maryland. It sits at 3,360 feet or 1,024 

Announcements, Notes and Spellings Words for this Week's Quizzes

Greetings Family,

Welcome to the beginning of another wonderful week. I have just a few announcements.

• Welcome to Black History Month! This month we be incorporating African-American History into our nonfiction writing unit. 
• On February 9, 2017 the PTSA will sponsor a Sweetheart Dance. It should be sweet time! (get it?)
• This week, students will have a spelling test and a weekly quiz.
• The weekly quiz covers material presented in our writing lessons and social studies lessons from the first two weeks of the quarter.
• Our spelling words for the week are as follows:

1. Thrive
2. Impact
3. Tolerate
4. Barren
5. Observe
6. Zone
7. Severe
8. Ideal
9. Flock
10. Ascend
11. Altitude
12. Migration
13. Equinox
14. Estimate
15. Unpredictable

iReady Winter Diagnostic Tomorrow

I apologize deeply for the short notice. This is just to inform you that we will have our iReady Winter Diagnostic tomorrow during the regularly scheduled class time. No prior preparation is needed except for a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast (perhaps a high five on the way out of the door as well). As always, thank you for your support. 

Social Studies Chapter 2: Lessons 3-5 Study Guide

Family,

This week we will complete our work on Chapter 2 of our social studies workbook. We have reviewed lessons 3-5. Here is what will be on the quiz:

Important Terms (Lessons 3-5: pages 58-73)

• Tax- the money citizens pay to a government
• Patriots- Colonists who opposed Great Britain’s attempt at control
• Loyalists- People who stayed loyal to Great Britain
• Delegate- someone who represents a group of people
• Amendment- changes or adds laws to a constitution
• Impressment- the kidnapping of American sailors to force them to serve in the British Navy
• Blockade- to keep something from going in or out
• Industrial Revolution- new machines changed the way Americans and people around the world lived and worked
• Mill- a factory in which raw material is processed
• Canal- a human-made waterway 
• Civil Rights- freedoms guaranteed by the constitution for all citizens of the United States
• Border State- A state between the north and south
• Abolition- the end of slavery 
• Union- the United States 
• Emancipation- the act of making someone free 
• What caused the colonists in Maryland to decide they wanted independence from Britain?
• Britain passed laws that angered the Maryland Colonists.

Lesson 3 (page 58)

• Why was it important to the cause of American Independence that there were Sons of Liberty in every colony? 
• It was important that the colonists formed a widespread group whose members all wanted independence.
• Remember this sequence of events:

1. Charles Carroll tells Captain Stewart to burn his ship. 
2. Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia 
3. Declaration of Independence is Approved 

• What is something that changed in Maryland after the Revolution that is still the same today?
• Baltimore is still the state’s largest city.
• What was the purpose of the Continental Congress? 
• Delegates from each state met to discuss a new plan of government and write a constitution.
• What are the important events that happen between 1776 and 1787? 
• 1776: Declaration of Independence
• 1783: American Revolution Ends 
• 1787: The Constitution is written and approved.
• What actions did Great Britain take that led Maryland to join the cause for independence? 
• The British collected extra taxes to pay for the war in Europe. The British tried to control the colony.
• How did the revolution give Marylander’s independence? 
• Before the Revolution, Marylander’s were colonists controlled by Britain. After the Revolution, they were citizens of the state of Maryland in a new nation.
• What are three causes of the war of 1812? 
• British ships were stopping American ships at sea.
• Great Britain, France, and the United States argued about who could trade with whom. 
• There were also problems between settlers and Native Americans in the West and along the border between Canada and the United States.
• What is one effect of the War of 1812? 
• After the war, the United States seemed to be stronger than ever.

Lesson 4 (page 62)

• Remember this sequence of events:

1. President James Madison declared war. 
2. The British were kidnapping American sailors. 
3. Baltimore sent out Baltimore Clippers to slip through the Blockade. 
4. The White House and the capitol building went up in flames. 

• Remember this sequence of events:

1. Baltimore became an important port. 
2. As businesses grew, there were more jobs in Baltimore. 
3. Many people moved to Baltimore. 

• Using the map on page 7, answer the following: You are taking the Baltimore and Ohio railroad from Baltimore to Oakland. What cities will you pass along the way?
• Fredrick, Martinsburg, and Cumberland
• What are four kinds of changes that took place in Maryland in the early 1800s? 
• The population was growing. 
• There was more industry. 
• Transportation and religious freedom improved. 
• People’s ideas about slavery were changing.

Lesson 5 (page 68)

• Which states were border states? (Use the map on page 71.) 
• MO- Missouri 
• KY-Kentucky 
• WV- West Virginia 
• MD- Maryland 
• DE- Delaware
• Were most states on the side of the Confederacy or on the side of the Union? 
• More states were on the side of the Union. 
• Remember this sequence of events:

1. 1860- Lincoln is elected 
2. 1861- Baltimore riot 
3. 1862- Battle of Antietam 
4. 1865- Civil War ends

• Why weren’t slaves in Maryland free after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation? 
• The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Confederate states, but Maryland wasn’t in the Confederacy.
• How did slavery end in Maryland?
• The new constitution made slavery illegal in the state of Maryland.

Announcements

Greetings Family,

I hope that you were able to find some sort of meaningful time during this past Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Here are a few announcements for this short week:

• The elementary music concert will be Thursday, January 19th at 7PM. We hope to see you there!
• There is no school for students on Friday, January 20, 2017. 
• There will be a no spelling test this week. There will be a weekly quiz this week. A study guide will follow this post.
• Reading logs and iReady minutes were assigned today. They are due next Monday, January 23rd.
• We are approaching the season for iReady and MAP winter updates. When these dates are scheduled, I will be sure to let you know.

Let's make it a great week! Work hard.

-Ms. Sheps

Quarter 3 Arts Schedule

Hi Family,

The Quarter 3 Arts schedule is here. Take a look at your earliest convenience.

-Ms. Sheps

Weekly Quiz 2.5 Study Guide

Greetings Family,

The following items will be on this week's quiz:

• All BWTL Words: Estimate, Severe, Unpredictable
• Students should know the definition and part of speech for the word.
• Students should know how to use the word in a sentence.
• Students should know cause and effect.
• Cause: a reason something happens
• Effect: the result of the cause
• Social Studies Chapter 2: Lesson 2
• Key Terms
• Charter- an agreement
• Proprietor- an owner 
• Assembly- A group of people elected to make laws or decisions for a particular region 
• Tolerate- to allow something 
• Bartered- traded 
• Cash Crop- A crop sold for profit 
• Plantations- Large farms 
• Indentured servants- a person agreed to work for a certain period of time
• Why did Catholics in England want to move to America? 
• In England, Catholics faced many restrictions. They wanted religious freedom.
• List three instructions given to Maryland settlers by the colonial proprietor.
• They had to build a town. 
• They were to plant gardens near their homes. 
• They were to teach their religion to Native Americans.
• What was one problem settlers faced in Maryland? 
• Diseases killed a lot of settlers.
• What is one cause of colonial farmers moving west? 
• Towns develop. People can buy supplies and grind their grain at a central mill.
• What are the differences and similarities between slavery and indentured servants?
• Indentured servants work for a specific amount of time and are given freedom at the end of their contract. 
• Slaves are forced to work for life. They do not agree to a contract. 
• Both had to work for someone else (a master) and were not free to leave.

Study hard!

-Ms. Shepard

Weekly Announcements, Notes, and Spelling Words

Greetings Family,

I hope you had a pleasant and restful weekend. Hopefully you were able to keep warm throughout the snow. Just a few reminders and things on the horizon as we close out quarter 2:

• There will be no school on Monday, January 16, 2017 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 
• The elementary music concert will be Thursday, January 19th at 7PM. We hope to see you there!
• There is no school for students on Friday, January 20, 2017. 
• There will be a spelling test and a weekly quiz this week.
• Reading logs and iReady minutes were assigned today. They are due next Tuesday, January 17th.
• We are approaching the season for iReady and MAP winter updates. When these dates are scheduled, I will be sure to let you know.
• Students learned their "Bringing Words to Life" words today. They are
• Severe is an adjective that describes something very serious of harsh.
• Estimate is a verb that means guessing based on the information you have.
• Unpredictable is an adjective that means something can't be described or depended on; unsure.
• "Compound Word" spelling words were assigned today. They are as follows:
1. Watermelon
2. Homemade
3. Understand
4. Sometimes
5. Shoelace
6. Highway
7. Upstairs
8. Thunderstorm
9. Shortcut
10. Doorbell
11. Jellyfish
12. Touchdown
13. Campfire
14. Skateboard
15. Anyway
16. Fireworks
17. Haircut
18. Loudspeaker
19. Laptop
20. Flashlight
21. Masterpiece
22. Stomachache
23. Cliffhanger
24. Sweatshirt
25. Afterthought

Let's make it a great week. Work hard.

-Ms. Sheps

Weekly Quiz 2.4

Greetings Family,

The following items will be on this week's quiz:

• Our BWTL Words: thrive, impact, tolerate
• Students must know the definitions of each word.
• Thrive is a verb that means to grow strong and well; flourish.
• Tolerate is a verb hat means to endure or put up with something.
• Impact is a noun that means to have a direct effect on. It can also be used as a verb.
• Students must know the part of speech for each word.
• Students must know how to use the words correctly in a sentence.
• An inference is when the reader uses details from the text and background knowledge to understand what the author is trying to say.
• Examples of inferences: Prediction, Conclusion, and Assumptions
• What is an inference Equation?
• TC (Text Clues) + BK (Background Knowledge) = I (Inference)
• What is a myth?
• A myth is a traditional story that explains how things in nature came to be.

I hope this helps!

-Ms. Sheps

Happy New Year!- Announcements and Spelling Words

Greetings Family,

Welcome back! Happy New Year to all. 

• This week, no reading log will be assigned. Students are still responsible for their iReady homework. It is still due Monday of next week. Reading logs will be reassigned next week. 
• We will have a spelling test and a weekly quiz this Friday. Spelling words 21-25 will be extra credit this week. The spelling words are as follows:
1. However
2. Mountain
3. Mound
4. Scout
5. Shout
6. Couch
7. Towel
8. Ounce
9. Coward
10. Outdoors
11. Flowerpot
12. Scowl
13. Browse
14. Announce
15. Hound
16. Trout
17. Drowsy
18. Grouch
19. Eyebrow
20. Boundary
21. Cauliflower
22. Foundation
23. Surround
24. Allowance
25. Counselor