This Week...

April 3- April 6, 2018

Reading:  Students were excited to start our next unit: poetry!  We learned that poetry can come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Students analyzed various poems and noticed different types of elements.  Some of these included the shape, font, amount of stanzas, colors, and print size.   We also talked about the following poetic techniques: alliteration, repetition, and onomatopoeia.  Students learned how to identify these techniques within different poems, while also inferring why the poets used them.  Reading Logs are due Monday, April 9.  (100 minutes)

Math:  We dove right into chapter 11!  Students investigated the metric system by focusing on centimeters, meters, and kilometers.  They worked on converting these measurements.  At the end of the week, students focused on grams and kilograms.

Science:  Static electricity was our focus this week!  Students learned that when they rub a balloon with a wool cloth, it produces an electrical charge.  This electrical charge produced a force called static electricity.  Students investigated with the balloons and observed how they interacted with other materials in the classroom.  Some of the objects were attracted, while others repelled.  We will be having our forces unit test on Friday, April 13.  Flashcards will be going home next week that students can use to help them study.

Writing:  We began unit 3 in our WEX program!  Students enjoyed learning about how to develop a fictional character.  By analyzing photographs, students described what their character would be thinking, feeling, and saying in various settings.  In grammar, we focused on verbs “be”, “do”, and “have”.

Word Study:  This week, students analyzed words that had similar syllable patterns.  Knowing these patterns helped students learn how to spell other words.  They played a game of “Go Fish” to practice the patterns.

Miscellaneous:  Welcome back!  I hope you all had an enjoyable spring break.  On Thursday, we will be having our field trip to the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.  A reminder note will be sent home at the beginning of next week.  April book orders went home today and are due Wednesday, April 25.  Finally, the South states and capitals information went home at the beginning of the week.  This will be our last region of the year and the test will be on May 1.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions…have a fabulous weekend!