Olympic Curler Visit!

We were so lucky to have Joni Cotten, an Olympic curler from the 2002 Winter Olympics, visit our classrooms today!  She taught us a lot about the sport of curling and shared her experiences as an Olympic athlete.  

This Week...

February 20- February 23, 2018

Reading:  We continued reading various books about forces!  Students learned that it’s important to use strategies when faced with difficult, content vocabulary.  We utilized a S.E.E.D. graphic organizer to help us understand challenging words.  Students found Sentences that contained the word, wrote Examples, wrote an Explanation of the word, and Drew a picture or connection.  Students also recorded their learning about forces in a KWL chart. Reading Logs are due Monday, February 26.  (100 minutes)

Math:  This week, students learned how to draw bar models to represent information in division story problems.  We started the week focusing on one-step problems and ended the week with multi-step problems.  Students applied their knowledge of basic division facts and long division to help them find the answers.

Science:  Students learned how friction affects the movement of a toy car.  They also learned that when forces are applied with equal strength, but in opposite directions, the object will not move.  At the end of the week, students investigated the force of gravity!

Writing:  In writing, we focused on the importance of correctly sequencing important events.  Students applied this idea to My Name is Maria Isabel.  We also continued reading a few more chapters and discussed new character traits to describe Maria Isabel.  Students supported their thinking with text evidence.  In grammar, students focused on writing verbs in the future tense by using the word “will”.

Word Study:  This week, students learned how to analyze the two parts of compound words to determine their meanings.  They also learned that words can be connected in various ways (same beginning, same ending, etc.).  They created word ladders based on these similarities.  At the end of the week, we read complex words by breaking them apart into syllables.

Miscellaneous:  Information about the West states and capitals went home on Wednesday.  Also, an informational letter about the upcoming PARCC tests went home on Thursday.  Today, students enjoyed celebrating student council’s spirit day: 80’s Day!  As always, please let me know if you have any questions…have a wonderful weekend!

This Week...

February 12- February 16, 2018

Reading:  We started our Forces and Action reading unit!  We began by focusing on our essential question: How and why do objects move?  We also previewed key vocabulary for the unit.  We discussed the importance of knowing content vocabulary as we read various articles and books.  Students accessed their prior knowledge of forces by drawing upon their science experiments.  This information sparked new wonders and questions.  Reading Logs are due Tuesday, February 20.  (100 minutes)

Math:  We continued working on unit 9.  Students practiced drawing the various types of bar models to represent information in number stories.  We focused specifically on multi-step problems.  Students learned to start with the information they know and then build on from that point.

Science:  Students worked together to find creative ways to make a toy car move.  They created questions and tested out their ideas with various materials.  While experimenting, students discovered that a force is a push or a pull.  A force must act on an object in order for it to move.  The students’ experiments focused on the four force descriptors: what the force is, what the force is acting on, the direction of the force, and the strength of the force.

Writing:  Students utilized a verb continuum, which started with slow moving verbs and ended with quick moving verbs.  Students incorporated these verbs when writing about Maria Isabel.  In grammar, students took their test on past tense verbs.

Word Study:  This week, we focused on homographs!  Students learned that these words are spelled the same, but are pronounced differently and have different meanings.  They chose various homographs, used them in sentences, and illustrated their meanings.

Miscellaneous:  Thank you to everyone who made our Valentine’s Day party possible!  The students really enjoyed the celebration!  A special thank you to Matthew’s mom, Dylan’s mom, and Quin’s mom for volunteering at the party.  In the LMC, students created informational movies using Adobe Spark.  Their movies summarized the key points they learned about their famous Illinoisans.  Students were also excited to start a mini Personalized Learning project about winter Olympic sports!  They used various resources and note-taking strategies to document their learning.  Just a reminder, students do not have school on Monday due to President’s Day.  Enjoy the 3-day weekend and I’ll see you back on the 20th!

Valentine's Day Party and Force Experiments!

We had a great time at our Valentine's Day party!  We also loved exploring forces in science!

This Week...

February 5- February 9, 2018

Reading:  While reading a variety of poetry about the Olympics, students practiced making inferences.  They used their background knowledge and clues from the text to figure out information about the events being described.  We also reviewed key strategies and skills from our fiction unit.  At the end of the week, students took their fiction unit test. Reading Logs are due Monday, February 12.  (100 minutes)

Math:  After taking our unit 8 test, we began unit 9!  An informational letter was sent home detailing the key concepts.  Students applied bar models to multiplication and division problems.  They learned about two different types of models and how to use them to figure out real life story problems.  We will continue unit 9 next week!

Social Studies:  Students took their Illinois test.  They also completed their Northeast states and capitals.  In the LMC, students continued using various search engines like World Book Online to find important information about a famous Illinoisan.  Next week, we will begin our new science unit: Forces and Action!

Writing:  We continued reading about Maria Isabel.  Students reviewed how to find subjects and verbs within a text.  Then, they wrote about a moment where Maria Isabel liked or disliked something that happened in the book.  They used details from the text to support their thinking.  In grammar, students worked on choosing the correct form for past tense verbs.

Word Study:  This week, we analyzed words that contained vowels paired with the letter “r”.  Students learned that the letter “r” impacts the sound of the vowels.  They practiced this concept by playing the game “Follow the Path”.

Miscellaneous:  Just a reminder, if your child is planning on bringing valentines, please be sure there is one for each student and that they do not contain food/candy.  Valentine boxes are due on Monday, February 12.  Next week, students will take the remaining two CogAT tests.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Have a great weekend and enjoy the snow day!

Global Play Day!

We spent the afternoon playing games with our classmates!  We learned about different strategies and how to play fairly with others.  Students documented their learning with photos and videos.  We also reflected on our afternoon as well!