Literatura
This week we started our anticipated Reading Club, Con carino, Amalia. Students were given a rubric stating the expectations for this project and a reading calendar that will help them stay on track with the reading requirements. Most of the work will be done in class, however students are expected to take the book and the reading log home, so they can re-read parts to clarify understanding and elaborate on their notes and observations. (Students are more than welcome to include this reading in their nightly 15 minutes of Spanish) The reading logs will serve as a foundation for their final assignment. Please make sure you sit down with your child to understand and help facilitate this project. As a culminating activity, students are ask to create an art piece that represents the theme of the book. This part has to be done at home and brought to school as a surprise on our last day, October 27th. We gave some suggestions in class, but they are encouraged to get as creative as they want, through any art medium. If you have any questions, do not hesitate in contacting me.
Other objectives for this week:
- Explain the characteristics of a realistic fiction piece.
- Write a summary of a story incorporating main idea and supporting details.
- Compare and contrast two realistic fiction pieces.
- Make inferences and ask questions to check for comprehension.
- Understand the structure of simple sentences and identify subject and object (sujeto y predicado)
- Spell palabras esdrujulas and use them in sentences accurately.
- Identify common prefixes in Spanish.
- State an opinion about a subject(orally).
Ciencias
This week we were very excited to start Investigation 2, Planetary Systems. The focus question for the first part of this investigation was: How can you explain why we see some natural objects only in the night sky, some only in the day sky, and some at both times? We began our Night-Sky Observations. Students took a mini–field trip to the schoolyard to look for the Moon. We could not find it and constructed explanations for this phenomenon. Sometimes we can see the moon during the day and sometimes we can’t. After learning vocabulary related to this part (moon phases) and recording the Moon’s appearance, the class started a Moon calendar, on which they will record the Moon’s appearance every day for a month (let’s hope the sky is clear!). Students were assigned to observe the night sky for 4 days at home. We will share our observations on Monday! Some of the science practices included:
- Planning and carrying out investigations.
- Analyzing and interpreting data.
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
History & Geography
This week we began The Renaissance. Our objectives were:
- Familiarize students with European Geography and geography from Renaissance Italy
- Identify the Renaissance and when and where it occurred.
- Recognize the connection between the Renaissance and ancient times
- Recognize Italy’s importance to the Renaissancance
- Understand Florentine society of the 1400s.
- Understand and paint a perspective piece
Mathematics
This week we worked with Dividing by tens, hundreds, and thousands. We also divided by 2-digit numbers. Our objectives were:
- Divide numbers up to 4 digits by multiples of 10, 100, or 1,000
- Use Rounding and related multiplication facts to estimate quotients
- divide a by a 2-digit number
English Word Work
This week began our new rotation. Our rotation days were:
- Word search: students received a word search with their new words and were tasks with finding then sorting them
- Teacher Meeting: I met with each student to check if they understood their new sort
- Vocabulary: We dug through our reading books for words to add to our word wall. The words we found were disconsolate and cygnets
- Spelling City: Students had a chance to get on the computers and practice their computer skills and spelling
Our spelling test will be on Tuesday!
Specialists
ART The 4th and 5th grade students finished their felt fabric Mola designs this week in art. These are designs based on the Kuna Indian fabric art of Panama. Here is a photo of the students with their artwork, but you really have to see these designs in person to appreciate how much time and creativity went into these! (Jack was absent but we’ll get a photo of him next week). I will see if there’s a safe spot to display this beautiful art in their classroom. Thank you to Tamra’s mom Barbara for helping everyone with this project!