This Week...

May 15-May 19, 2017

Reading:  We continued reading a variety of poems!  Students recorded their thinking in the margins.  They looked for elements of poetry that contributed to the overall meaning of the poem.  Some of these elements included the title, literary devices, white space, line breaks, punctuation, and illustrations.  By piecing together these elements, students were able to determine the author’s main message. Reading Logs are due Monday, May 22.  (100 minutes)

Math:  Analyzing data was a main topic this week!  Students measured the distance between their waists and the floor.  Then, we collected the data in a tally frequency chart.  Students were able to find the mean, median, and mode from the chart.  Finding averages was another focus for the week.  Students learned that they need to add up all the data points and divide by the amount of points to determine the mean. **If applicable: for students still on addition and subtraction, fact tests and graphs are due Monday, May 22.

Science:  This week, students learned how meteorologists collect important weather data for forecasts.  We focused on learning the tools that gather key weather information.  Some of these tools included barometers, anemometers, thermometers, rain gauges, cloud cover charts, and wind vanes.  Later in the week, students analyzed weather data from the last few days to determine any patterns.

Writing:  Students completed their short fiction rough drafts!  They worked hard to make important revisions by bracketing sections that could be improved.  Next week, we will work on our final drafts.  In grammar, we focused on comparative adjectives.

Spelling:  We had our week 32 review test.

Miscellaneous:  Our last writing words test of the year will be on May 25.  This test is cumulative and will cover all the lists from the year.  A comprehensive list went home on Thursday.  Today, students enjoyed a Junior Achievement presentation by a volunteer from Komatsu.  They learned about cities, development, and building zones.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions.  Have a fantastic weekend!