Language Arts / artes del lenguaje
What a busy week! Students are very excited about our new literacy studies, “Our Corner of the Universe”. We got to brainstorm ideas and activate prior knowledge about this area of study. I was so very impressed to find out how knowledgeable and passionate students are about this topic. Next week, students will be conducting a research project in class about a topic they have selected from our unit. They will also receive a calendar and a rubric. Everybody is thrilled and want to get to work already! Stay tuned!
This week we finished another successful book club! Students did a magnificent job during our book club time and have met all expectations. For our literature circle next week, we will be working on a new fun project involving children’s theater.
Other concepts seen in literacy this week:
- Preview vocabulary (cognates)
- Listening comprehension: El universo by Seymour Simon
- Classifying and organizing information
- Dictado
- Reviewing concepts of writing
Science / ciencia
Another busy science week! The focus of our investigation this week was on a particular part of the food webs, the decomposers. As we continued to revisit the concept that decomposers are organisms that consume and recycle dead organisms and organic waste, students got to be very close to some of them! Our guiding question this week was: What happens when compost worms interact with organic matter? To conduct this investigation in collaborative groups, students set up redworm habitat systems to study detritivores. They will be recording what organic materials go into the habitat and observing changes in the worm jar over several weeks. With this, we have concluded our investigation 1, Systems. Next week, we will be working on Nutrient Systems.
Students have taken home a science book, Las cadenas alimentarias y las redes alimentarias. It is very beneficial that they practice reading their book on a regular basis. This will help, not only with their Spanish practice but also, to be ready for class’ discussions. We will be having a quiz on this book next Thursday.
History & Geography
This week we learned about The Alamo and how it was the beginning of the Mexican-American War. We began with learning about The Alamo, we even came up with our own classroom battle cry which is “We are SWS and we strive to learn and pet pugs!”. We then discussed how The Alamo was the start of the conflict with Mexico. We did a read aloud about the conflict with Mexico including The Alamo and the Mexican-American war. Students were then divided in to groups of 3 and given an important figure from the Mexican-American War to research. Students used their history textbook and online resources to create a mini-biography about their person. On Friday each group presented their information to the class. We then discussed how Zachary Taylor, Jame K. Polk, Winfield Scott, and Santa Anna affected the war and their stance on annexation in general. We also had a great discussion on the importance of voting and how it affected the elections in 1840. It was great to be able to see students making connections from past elections to present day. I love letting the students lead discussions and build connections on their own. Next week we will be finishing our Westward Expansion before the Civil War Unit and we will move onto the Civil War!
Math
We had our chapter 13 test this Monday. This was a very long and challenging test. Students received their tests back on Tuesday and had the option of doing test corrections. Students receive half of the total points for the question back, if completed. It is so important for students to go back and look at the mistakes they made and correct them. We found out that, as a whole, the class has trouble with nerves and reading the instructions during tests. Many students expressed the feeling of wanting to finish the test first or skipping the instructions. This brought us to have a 
conversation about test taking strategies, which I created a poster of, that is now hanging in class. We also began our reverse classroom ratios project! This has been very exciting and the students seem to love it. All of them have such great ideas for their projects and I am very excited to see them when they are complete. Remind your student they have all of next week during math to ask questions if they get stuck on something. Projects are due Monday May 23rd, I invite all parents to come watch the presentations that day! I will make sure to send out an e-mail the Friday before giving more details about presentations.
English Spelling/ Vocabulary
This week we continued with our sorts. The students have the routine down and work very well independently. Many students have also decided to go farther with our rotation than instructed. Some students race each other to do their sorts or quiz each other with any extra time after completing the assignment. These sorts are so important and really teach students to pick up on the patterns within words. We have been focusing on our word hunts. This is where students use the groups from their word list and try to add to it. They use their history, math, science, and individual reading books. After they find a word that they think may fit into one of the groups they must prove it by explaining how it follows the pattern or meaning. I am very pleased with all of the spelling test scores! I can tell everyone is working very hard and using their class time wisely.
Art
The 4/5 students finished their Dream Catchers this week in art. They finished weaving the “web” and then added strings of beads and feathers. These turned out great! The students brought them home today. In a couple weeks, I’ll be sending home all the artwork that the 4/5 students have created since January.
Music
The class continued work on a medley of songs we have learned at SWS and “L’s vida es un baile.” We also learned both the song and dance of “Pajaritos a bailar,” a Swiss polka known in English as “The Chicken Dance.”