The beginning of the second marking period, in the different classes looks briefly, like this:

Language Arts- We are working on Narrative Writing. Students are writing original fiction in response to Vt. Writing Standard 1.9. Some of the strategies we've explored include expanding sentences, using vivid language (with thesauruses) and  writing with voice. We've used graphic organizers to lay our our stories before writing. These will be on our team web site by mid December.

In December we'll begin reading a kid friendly version of the Odyssey in conjunction with our study of ancient Greece in SS.  We'll use some of our recently learned reading response strategies and write about character. We'll continue to discuss all of the literary elements. 

Social Studies- We've recently completed culture web pages that will be posted to our site in mid December. We've begun reading about the early civilizations of the fertile crescent area. Students are using timelines and learning how to take two column notes from text.

During December we will explore the ancient Greek civilization in some depth, including a re-creation of the trial of Socrates.

Math Students are embarking on a new unit called Shapes and Designs. This is the first unit in Connected Mathematics on geometry. Goals of the unit include developing the ability to recognize and analyze shapes and to measure the sides and angles of different shapes. 

Science   In science students have been studying the characteristics of all living things. We are now learning the history of classifying organisms and how it is done.  Students will eventually develop their own classification system based on the characteristics of their stuff animals

A note from Hayley and Karolina, Odyssey Students

• Hey Odyssey!  On Fri. we’re going to the movie Polar Express.  Make sure to give $6.00 to Mr. Wight or Mr. McGowan. 
• If you want to be entertainment at the next team meeting, then talk to Ryan Hayes or Aaron Gauding.  Make sure to congratulate Kelsey and Hiro for winning the pat on the back award.
• Also, be sure to congratulate Alyssa, Nicole, Mattea, and Heather and Bentley from the ExCeL team for doing their lip sync dance in the recent team meeting.  

      In math we are doing coordinate graphs. In language arts we have been writing narrative fictional stories. In science we recently finished weather. One thing we did was a make barometer, which showed the air pressure. Now we are learning about cells and living organisms.  

     Make sure to be prepared for a quiz in science either Tues. or Wed.. In social studies we had been doing South America, and we were each assigned a country to study. Now we are studying ancient history (Mesopotamia, Babylonia, etc.)