Language Arts
We completed our very well liked imaginación unit. The students were all sad to see it end. The students have almost completed their realistic fiction writing pieces. They’ve walked through the entire process but this time they are taking it a step further by adding in ambiance. We are really working on painting pictures with our words. I look forward to the students publishing these pieces, as they have worked really hard on them.
We are adding verb conjugations to the back of our estudio de palabras journals. Students will be able to use these verb chart/flip books as a reference when they are writing. This week we added in the regular present tense verbs.
Spelling/ ortografia(words spelled with y or ll)
construyó
calle
cabello
llamaba
ayuntamiento
ayudaba
sencillas
ella
mayor
allí
llegar
ocotillo
llena
caballo
joyas
Math
This week we worked on equivalent fractions. We folded pieces of paper, drew lines on the folds, then folded each of those sections in half and drew lines on those folds. This was a great to see equivalent fractions.
Folding and coloring? Yes, they help us compare fractions!
We also used our multiplication and division knowledge to identify equivalent fractions and also to reduce them.
On Thursday and Friday we began comparing unlike fractions. We learned:
- When fractions have the same denominator, you only need to compare the numerator to see which one is bigger or smaller.
- When fractions have the same numerator, the lower denominator is the greater fraction.
- Comparing unlike fractions can be done with number lines, diagrams, pie charts, or by using multiplication to make common denominators. (We will continue working on this concept next week.)
The students voted and elected to have daily math homework in place of a big unit packet.
Social Studies
This week we review what we’ve learned so far about the Native Americans of the southeast. On Tuesday we began reading about the Inuit of the Arctic and subarctic region. We learned that they were related to the Thule and lived in igloos for part of the year. They survived mainly by hunting at sea and on land. We learned that they invented the kayak and use it for hunting and transportation. They also relied heavily on the domesticated dogs for survival. They used them in teams to pull sleds and for hunting. On Friday we begin reviewing this unit to prepare for the domain assessment next Tuesday. The class has been taking notes throughout the unit and will be able to use these on the assessment.
Science
We have learned about the phases of the Moon this week. We also read about what it was like for astronaut to visited our close neighbor . We read about constellations on Tuesday, several students were excited to share what they knew about the naming of constellations. On Thursday the class read the poem Escape at Bedtime by Robert Louis Stevenson. We analyzed the poem, and then some students chose to illustrate it. The class continue to work on editing and publishing their own space poems. They are coming out quite beautiful and I can’t wait to share them with you on our classroom door. On Friday we begin reading about the Big Bang.
English Spelling/Writing
The class has continued to review what we’ve learned about past tense in grammar. We have been working on our sorts and activities all week, but on Thursday we took a break from our regular spelling routine. We celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday by reading two Dr. Seuss books and writing about our favorite Seuss stories in our journals.
Art
In 2nd/3rd grade art, some of the students needed to finish their “story quilts” and then we started a different type of quilt design using crayon resist. The students learned how to fold paper to create geometrical shapes, and then they added neon crayon for color. After crumpling their quilt pieces several times to create cracks in the crayon, the students painted on brown watercolor to make the crayon designs look like old fabric. Check out their great quilt projects on the bulletin boards at school!
Music
This week we reviewed songs from the core curriculum, adding two new ones: Simple Gifts and This Little Light of Mine.