Weekly Update- 1/28

Well we made it through the week with only a delayed opening!  We were able to accomplish much more this week than last week!

In math we are in the middle of chapter 6.  We are continuing to work with our multiplication facts.  The students are doing a great job memorizing their facts!  Each of the students has an index card on which they keep track of their progress by writing down their time and their score each time we take a timed test.  The students are very eager to improve and have been studying hard!  We will be having our chapter test next Thursday.  Instead of moving onto chapter 7 which focuses on division, we are going to be skipping to chapter 8: geometry and measurement.  This will give the students more time to practice their multiplication facts before starting division.

In Social Studies we started learning about government.  We created a class word web and wrote down all of the words that we think of when we hear the word "government".  We talked about the meaning of the words in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner.  We also talked about how the Star Spangled Banner became our National Anthem.  In addition, we started learning about local government, who is in charge of it, and how it works.

In shared reading we read the fantasy story, An Amazing Journey.  We practiced making predictions using the cover illustration and the table of contents.  We also learned about how and why italics are used in writing.  The students practiced tracking dialogue in the story as well.  In guided reading we practiced using nonfiction text features (headings, captions, maps, diagrams, labels, bold words, etc.) to help understand the text.

In writing the students wrote free verse poems.  The students used some of the techniques that we learned about 2 weeks ago in shared reading.  These techniques included alliteration and onomatopoeia.  They really enjoyed writing their free verse poems because there were no rules to follow!  The students shared their poems with their classmates today.

In Fundations we have started unit 7.  This unit focuses on adding suffixes to words that end in y.  The students are practicing changing the y to an i before adding a suffix (unless the suffix also begins with an i).

In Spanish we continued to practice our color words.  In our grammar lessons the students practiced changing singular nouns to plural nouns.  This week we focused on words that have to change their spelling to become plural (child- children, man- men, person- people, mouse- mice, etc.)  The students also earned another class reward for good behavior!

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update- 1/21

Well, with only 1.5 days of school this week there is not much to update you on!  We started reading the biography of Martin Luther King Jr., reviewed for our science test by playing Jeopardy, finished learning our multiplication facts, and completed our realistic fiction short stories.

Our science test scheduled for today will be moved to Monday.  Book orders are also due on Monday.  I sent out an e-mail last week about our Valentine's Day celebration.  If you did not receive it, please let me know.  Enjoy the snowday! Hopefully it will be our last one.  Look for a longer update next week!

Weekly Update- 1/14

Well we have been back from break for 2 weeks and we haven't made it through either of those weeks without a snowday!  Maybe next week...

I am so proud of how well the students did on their chapter 5 math test!  We have now moved onto chapter 6 which continues to focus on multiplication.  We will learn the rest of the times tables in this chapter.  Please continue to practice the facts with your children at home.  Thanks for all of your help!

In science we are finishing our unit on states of matter.  This week we talked about the position of the particles in a solid, liquid, and gas and the did a project about this topic.

We also talked about the processes of melting, freezing, evaporating, and condensing.  While learning about melting and freezing we took a water bottle, placed food coloring in it, and placed it outside to watch the process of freezing.  We placed the bottle in the snow on Tuesday and when we returned to school on Thursday after the snowday, the water bottle was buried and when we dug it out we were amazed to find that the water in the bottle never froze- it was still a liquid!  We then setup another experiment to see if it was the food coloring or the snow cover that kept the water from freezing.  When we observed the water bottles this morning, the one left on the groud was frozen, but the one buried in the snow was still in liquid form.  We then discussed how the snow acted as an insulator and kept the water from changing into a solid.  It was a great learning experience for us!  We will be reviewing everything we have learned next week and the test will be on Friday.

In shared reading we read 5 different poems: Keep a Poem in your Pocket, Bullfrog Communique, Bed in Summer, Railroad Reverie, and The Adventures of Isabel.  With each of these poems we talked about the different techniques that the poets used to make their poems sound interesting and create a picture in the reader's mind.  We learned about using alliteration, onomatopoeia, and understatement in poetry.  The students will get the chance to practice these techniques when they become poets in our next writing unit.  The students practiced comparing and contrasting and drawing conclusions in their guided reading groups this week.

In writing the students are now in the process of writing the final drafts of their realistic fiction short stories.  This week they edited for word choice, added dialogue, and peer scored each other's work using a rubric.  Next week students will complete their final drafts and share them with the class.

We took our unit 6 Fundations test today.  We will begin unit 7 on Monday.  Unit 7 will focus on adding suffixes to words that end in the letter y.

We learned a few more letters in cursive this week.  We also continued to practice the color words in Spanish.  Today we watched a very powerful movie about Martin Luther King Jr..  We will be reading a book about his life next week in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. day.

Enjoy the 3-day weekend!

Student Update- What we have learned in math and some other subjects

This is Jeremy, Max, and Dan.  In math we have been learning multipliction facts 1's 0's 5's 10' s  2's and 9's. It's very interesting. This is Max introducing you into the 3 states of matter we learned in science. A liquid, solid and a gas. An amazing fact is the 3 states of matter are in your body. It is very fun to learn! Hi! This is Dan and in writing we are making short stories. Mine is about a boy named Tom that gets a new phone. I hope you get to see my story. Bye!

Weekly Update- 1/7

Happy Snow Day!

**Our math test will still be on Tuesday.  Study this weekend!  The students will take the practice test in school on Monday.**


Well we survived our first week back after our nice break!  We didn't waste any time getting to work.  In science, we started our new unit on States of Matter.  We did experiments with solids, liquids, and gases and learned about the properties of each. 
In shared reading we read the story, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  This book is a twist on the original fairy tale and is told from the wolf's point of view.  We spent much of the week debating whose side of the story was correct- the pigs' or the wolf's?  We also talked about the main character, the problems he faced, and how the way he chose to solve his problems created the plot of the story.  In guided reading we focused on the skills of analyzing the setting, analyzing the character, and identifying the problem and solution in our books.

The students continued to work on their realistic fiction short stories in writing.  The students looked at examples of other short stories and graded them with a rubric.  We also talked about point of view and the students chose whether they wanted to write their stories in the first-person or third-person. The main focus this week was adding descriptive words into their writing.  The students began drafting their stories and they are coming along great!

In Fundations we are still working on unit 6.  This week we learned about another vowel that is sometimes considered an open exception.  In addition to the letter a, the letter i can also be an exception to the rule in words such as animal and compliment.  The students will be taking the unit 6 test next week.

The students are really trying hard to learn their multiplication facts!  This chapter they learned the 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10 times tables.  In addition to making flashcards we have also been playing different games in class to help remember the facts.  The students' favorite is Multiplication Battle!  We will be having our chapter 5 test on Tuesday.  Chapter 6 will continue with multiplication and the students will learn the rest of their times tables in that chapter.  Please continue to practice facts at home.

In grammar we focused on changing singular nouns to plural nouns by adding -es or -ies.  The students are also working on their capital letters in cursive.  Soon the students will be writing in cursive!  In spanish we started learning the names of the different colors.

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy the snow!