We will spend the first weeks of school learning each other.  In addition the students will be given assessments in all subject areas in order to determine what areas are their strengths.  During this time students will also learn and improve upon the basic skills they need to have to successfully participate in the class.  Things such as: Why do I need vocabulary?  How to break up a word?  What sounds do letters make?  What is a summary?  What are the 5 questions of writing an essay?  What is the structure of an essay? What are the parts of speech?  What is a good sentence? We will learn the multiplication tables. How to divide? What is a fraction? How to measure?  How to analyze? What is a hypothesis? What is a hemisphere? What is longitude and latitude?  What is absolute location? What is rural and urban?