Literatura y Ciencias
Juliette shared a book she found at the library written by the same author we read in class!
This week we started our new literacy unit, Nuestro rincon del universo (Our Corner of the Universe). We have been studying this topic in science so it has been a smooth transition. After activating prior knowledge and going through relevant vocabulary we proceeded to read our first selection, El universo by Seymour Simon. The Objectives for this week in literacy were to:
- review the concepts seen about expository texts.
- apply comprehension skills such as Making Connections, Stopping to Clarify for Understanding, Visualizing, Identifying Main Ideas and Details on the Texts.
- classify and categorize information gathered from the text.
- understand the use of homophones and spell them and using them in context correctly.
Just a few reminders…
Students took their new spelling list on Thursday and are expected to turn in their homework sentences on Monday. This is part of our regular spelling routine in Spanish. Also, please remember that, as homework, students are expected to read 15 minutes in English and 15 minutes in Spanish (30 min. total) on a daily basis. Parents have to validate this reading with a signature. Please make sure you work with your child establishing reading/working habits so you don’t forget to sign their planners AT HOME. We are all working towards meeting our reading goal!
Please approach maestra Paola if your child needs Spanish reading material. I was able to set up a couple of our students’ personal I-pads this week and download a science E-book that your children would benefit greatly from having easy access to. Please do not hesitate in contacting me with regards to any school work, should you have any questions. I am available everyday before and after school.
Fun little Science Assessment: Phases of the Moon.
History & Geography
This week we began our next unit The Reformation. Our objectives were:
- describe the issues that alienated Martin Luther from the Catholic Church
- Summarize Martin Luther’s ideas, and explain how these ideas led to the Protestant Reformation
- explain the importance of movable type and the printing press to the spread of information
- describe how Gutenberg improved movable type and how his printing press worked
Students will have Maestra Paola all day Monday and Tuesday of next week. To keep on track for history students took home a small homework packet that is due November 16.
Mathematics
This week we finished our chapter on Fractions and Mixed Numbers. Our objectives were:
- solve real-world problems involving fractions and mixed numbers
- Review the concepts from chapter 7 in order to prepare for the unit test on Thursday
Students will receive their test back on Monday! We will then work on test corrections in class next week.
English Word Work
Writing, writing, writing!
This week continued our rotation. Our rotation days were:
- Vocabulary day: Students dug through all of our Renaissance writings to find words to add to our word wall. The words we found were errant and betwixt.
- Spelling City: Students had a chance to work on computer skills as well as spelling on spellingcity.com
- If your kiddo would like to work on spelling city at home they can follow this link www.spellingcity.com/users/34SpellingSWS
- Writer’s Workshop: Students were given the choice to write about Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, or their own writing prompt.
Our spelling test will be on Thursday November 16.
Specialists
Art with Ms. Kelly:
The students in all grades have been learning about Pablo Picasso this month in Art. We read a short book about this famous artist, and also looked at several examples of his artwork. Some of the art vocabulary words the students are learning about and/or reviewing this month are Cubism, Realistic, Abstract, and Collage.
We’ve been focusing on Picasso’s use of the guitar and violin as a theme in his artwork. He created a variety of drawings, paintings, collages and sculptures depicting these stringed instruments, some of which are recognizable and some are not. The students then made their own version of a cubistic guitar using the collage technique. The kindergarten and first graders worked really hard on this challenging project!
The students learned how to draw a simple guitar shape by observing a real guitar, and using basic shapes. The following week they cut the guitar drawing into shapes and rearranged it on a background of a variety of papers. It was fun to look at the wonderful compositions (arrangement of shapes) when we displayed the artwork on the whiteboard! The 2nd and 3rd Grade class artwork is on the bulletin board at school. I think Picasso would have loved seeing all the students’ creative, abstract art!
It was great having Miss Erin teach the students about guitar music while we were working on guitar art! We’ll be doing one more Picasso art project at the end of the month.