Language Arts
Our focus in literacy this week was, after reading and listening to different pieces, to identify the author’s point of view. Stories are told from the perspective of a first or third person narrator. Students experienced what it feels to be telling the story (personal narrative), taking complete part in the action. They also experienced what it means to be an observer who reports the actions that others execute. We had rich opportunities to work on developing vocabulary, as well as applying accurate written language structures, according the author’s point of view. Working in groups, we exchanged our personal narratives on Thursday. Students are expected to rewrite a draft of their partner’s story, but this time, from a third person point of view. I cannot wait to hear their pieces on Monday!
Please take note of the following:
- Students will be assessed on their listening comprehension on Thursday (La tierra que perdi)
- Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the language and word work we have done to this point on Friday.
Science
In science, students conducted the second part of investigation 1: separating a salt solution. The purpose of this investigation was to separate a solution through evaporation. During this investigation we made math connections reviewing units of measurement. We discovered that 50ml is almost the same as 50g. We talked about mass, weight and using appropriate tools to measure amounts. In science, every variable affects the results! This week, we will finish our investigation 1, conducting some fun hands-on work.
Math
We added rounding to our practice in number sense this week. The students did a great job of rounding to the nearest thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand and millions place. We finished off the week with a chapter test. Students will have the scored tests to bring home on Monday so you can see how well they did. We also spent some time getting ahead in our individual ALEKS work. Students are advancing quite proficiently!
Social Studies 
In history this week we started a unit on the ancient Meso-American civilizations. We’ve learned, so far, a bit about the Maya and Aztec peoples and will continue our research further next week. The students did a fun activity working with hieroglyphs to create their own “Codex” – using symbols instead of words just like the ancient Aztecs. Their codex explains what they see on their way to Spanish With Sarah every day! I’m looking forward to seeing them all upon completion.
Language Arts (English bonus activity)
Today we created story boards to enrich our comprehension skills. We had a great time creating illustrations for the Title, Author, Protagonist, Antagonist, Conflict, Resolution, Beginning, Middle, and End of individual picture books we were each provided with for the activity. Students showed not only amazing creativity – but also keen insight into the different parts of what every good story holds. I look forward to hanging their beautiful story boards up in the classroom next week!
Art
The 4th and 5th grade students just about finished their Fence Portrait art projects. They will put a few finishing touches on them next week, and then I’ll post a picture of these Fantastic Fence portraits! A SPECIAL THANKS to Mr. Martinez for sanding all the fence pieces!
