"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal." ~Mother Teresa

You've all heard it at one time or another--that little voice in your head that says, "It's too hard," "I can't do it," "I'll never be good enough." 

It's when you feel challenged by something new or difficult that you're most apt to experience a tinge of self-doubt.  It slithers into your subconscious unnoticed and nibbles away at your confidence, making you feel insecure, even powerless.  Just remember. . .

“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.” ~Honore de Balza

Never fear: motivation is here!

Motivation, simply put, is the desire to do things.  It's the difference between approaching a task with enthusiasm and a willingness to persevere -- and simply blowing it off. Without motivation, goal-setting is impossible.  Once you figure out what it is you want out of life, motivation and self-control will give you enough power to pound through the hard stuff and achieve more than you ever dreamed possible!                                                                                                                                                                  
                         

SBAC TESTING, MAY 5, 6, 7

SCHEDULE:

• Tuesday: ELA from 8:50 to 10:50 
• Wednesday: Math from 10:00 to 11:30 and from 12:35-2:00 (Performance Task)
• Thursday: ELA from 8:50-10:50 (Performance Task)

NOTICE: Assignments this week will be flexible due to SBACs and the subsequent changes in our schedule. PLEASE, be sure your child get a restful night's sleep and a good breakfast before school each day.Sugar-free gum is permitted during testing (ONLY!).

ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE 

WEEK OF 

3rd - 8th

SOCIAL STUDIES

#1. COMPARE GREAT MYTHS:

What was the myth that explained the beginnings of these great cities? Find out and create a 1/2 page illustrated summary of each for your project.

• The Legend of How Athens Got Its Name
• The Legend of How Rome Got Its Name

#2. CREATE CHARTS THAT LIST: 

Greek Letters

A Simpler Version

Roman Numerals 

(Hmm... How do you learn Roman numerals? Look HERE to find out!)

Or watch a video:

#3. DESIGN A ROMAN MOSAIC

Your Greek Ampnorae came out beautifully, and now it's time to look at an artform for which ancient Rome is well-known.  Mosaics.  I have a handout for you with all the directions you'll need.  Look at the interactive sites below. Play around with ideas using our smallest grid graph paper. For the activity, you'll need to cut colored construction paper into small squares (I will give you 1/2" strips and a paper cup for each color.)

WE'LL BE USING THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES IN OUR COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GREECE AND ROME.  MORE WILL BE ADDED AS NECESSARY. BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THEM; THEY HOLD A WEALTH OF REALLY INTERESTING INFORMATION.

         

        ANCIENT GREECE WEBSITES                                                         

• Ancient Greece for Kids - Mr. Donn 
• Who’s Who of Greek Gods  
• Ancient Greece -- A Little of Everything!  Way cool!
• Ancient Greece -- Even More of What You Want to Learn About
• Ancient Greece for Kids:  Another general kid-friendly resource  
• Ancient Greece:  Gods and Heroes
• The Ancient Olympics
• The British Museum: Ancient Greece -- so wonderful!    
• Lots of Fun: Mythweb! More about gods and heroes
• Huge site! 

Activities & Fun Stuff Websites

• Fun Ancient Greece Interactive website
• Odyssey Online Greece: An Interactive Learning Experience. WAY COOL!!! 
• Adventures in Ancient Greece Interactive!  A Must See!! (Take the Quiz)
• A Fun Place to Explore

A Quick Comparison of Greece and Rome

ANCIENT ROME WEBSITES

• Ancient Rome for Kids - Mr. Donn
• Discover Ancient Rome --great!
• Ancient Rome for Kids
• Roman Mythology - Gods & Heroes
• "The Romans" Interactive Site 
• The Epic Guide to the Romans
• How to Learn Roman Numerals  

Activities & Fun Stuff Websites

• Online mosaic maker
• Design a mosaic (shows examples)
• Roman number converter
• Standards-based content meets really fun games with Dig-It apps in iTunes: Roman Town, Artifact Snatch, and Lost Pursuit: Pompeii among others. Check them out HERE!

MATH

Monday:  Use Algebraic Expressions -- pgs. 273-274 & 7.6

Tuesday:  SBAC 

Wednesday:  SBAC

Thursday:  SBAC

Friday:  Pgs. 277-278 -- Problem-Solving--Combining Like Terms & 7.7

Want to see a cool way of solving algebraic  equations?   
Add this to your repertoire of tools!



7.7 COMBINING LIKE TERMS



QUICK RECAP OF COMBINING LIKE TERMS:




I THINK WE'VE GOT IT; LET'S BOOGIE!

LANGUAGE ARTS

Creating one glowing 

Let your (energy-efficient) light shine!

This week:

• Choose three EVENTS in the story (one at the beginning, one in the middle, and one at the end) that demonstrates how your main character changed or learned something about him/herself. These will guide your writing for the next three paragraphs.
• Write your first draft.

Read, children, read. . .  
as if your life depended on it.

Our Solar System For Kids - Lots of Free Games & Activities

You know, you're never really done studying things that you find fascinating. . . 
Check out these  "Supercells and Mega-Storms" pictures, guys--Whew!. 

Back to more cool Science next week! 
Remember to check out: "Space Unit - Study of the Universe"HERE  or on the main site HERE.

Introductory information taken in part from this article about believing in oneself,  Motivation information from Psychology Today also referred to for intro
What if I fail image   bike image  fish mosaics   SBAC image  shields  child reading   lightbul  animated band playing  Math banner  Math cartoon