Language Arts / artes del lenguaje
This a list of the concepts seen during Literacy this week. Remember that all of these concepts are studied, embedded in a rich and meaningful context. We discussed the difference between learning and acquiring a language and its rules (Spanish), and how crucial it is for students to be able to transfer words to other scenarios in order to internalize their meaning.
- New spelling list
- Word Work: Diphthongs and Hiatus
- Word Work: Suffixes (-ente)
- Irregular verbs (present tense)
- Oral Language: Describing Objects
- New reading packet Historias del abuelo
- Spelling sentences
- Manifest Destiny: Drawing Inferences
- Book Club: Karate Kid (Camdyn and Grace)
This week we started our new book club, Beisbol en abril. Our first group integrated by Camdyn and Grace did an excellent job facilitating our literature circle. Next week we have two groups responsible for this important job. All of our students have a partner and have selected a story from the book. They will be reading these stories aloud in class. We are very excited to read and listen to these short stories. Please make sure that your child comes prepared when it is their turn to facilitate.
Science / ciencia
This week we had our much anticipated field trip to Columbia Springs. Everything went so perfectly well, from the great weather (no rain!) to the great hands-on learning experiences. We also had fabulous instructors, Miss Jenna and Miss Ellen, who guided us through three different stations. We had a chance to use all our senses to connect to nature. What a great way to kick off our spring science studies and, of course, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate our beloved mother Earth, on her special day!
In class, we discussed the big ideas of our spring science studies, The Living Systems Module. It has four investigations that will focus on systems as the unit of study. The idea of a system is one of the grand integrating (cross-cutting) concepts that pervades all of science. Students will start by looking at Earth as the interaction of four Earth systems or subsystems – the geosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. The focus of the module then turns to the biosphere as students explore ecosystems and organisms in terms of their interacting parts. In this module students will:
- Analyze everyday systems and subsystems.
- Analyze food chains and food webs as a way to study the biosphere.
- Make and analyze a worm habitat as a decomposition system.
- Investigate nutrient-getting systems of yeast, plants, and animals, including humans.
- Investigate and model transport systems in plants and animals.
- Investigate sensory systems in animals
History & Geography
We completed our Lewis and Clark journals this week, if you have not yet stopped by our bulletin board go and check them out. The students worked very hard and did a fantastic job of describing various plants, animals, and landmarks. As wells as, wonderful “a day in the life of Lewis and Clark” journal entries. The students read-aloud their journal entries focusing on using their voices to build the setting and tone of their stories. To finish off our Lewis and Clark chapter we watched a short video by TEDed that debunked common myths about Sacagawea. The students were very surprised by many things that Sacagawea accomplished. A few stand outs were the fact that she dived into a river to retrieve Lewis and Clark’s journals and supplies that had fallen in, and that she was kidnapped at the age of 12. We also began our Chapter on Mountain Men and Trappers. We discussed Zebulon Pike and Pike’s peak and why Pike’s peak was named after him. We also saw various examples of other Mountain Men like Kit Carson and Jim Bridges. We will continue Mountain Men and Trappers next week including a read-aloud and a fun activity!
Math
We had our Chapter 12 test this Monday. Although, it was a tough test I am so proud of how far everyone has come and all the skills they’ve mastered. We began chapter 13 this week we are going back to working with our old friend the triangle! We did a quick review of Chapter 6 and other concepts we learned before. We are using a lot of prior knowledge this chapter to expand our knowledge of polygons. We learned a very catchy polygon song this week, I’m sure m
ost of you have already heard it! We just started classifying triangles by angles and by sides. When classifying triangles by angles they can either be right, obtuse, or acute. When classifying triangles by sides they can be isosceles, scalene, or equilateral. They have 2 pages of homework this weekend that is due Monday. Remember I am available through email all weekend if there are any questions. To finish on a fun note we played trashketball with our classifying triangles definitions.
English Spelling/ Vocabulary
We received new word lists this week and kicked off our week by writing silly stories using at least 10 words from our spelling list. The words had to be used correctly and in a way that proved you know the meaning of the word. We were then able to share these silly stories with each other and edit. We focused on looking for COPS in each other’s stories. COPS: Capitalization, Order/Organization, Punctuation, Spelling. We then looked up the definitions for the other 10 words from our spelling list and put it into our own words or used it in a sentence. We made sure to also look at what part of speech each word is and how to find the part of speech of each word in the dictionary. We also learned how to play WRITE! this week have your student explain the game to you! Its simple enough to play at home with 2 people! Because of the field trip this Friday our spelling test was moved to Monday so be prepared!
Art
This week all of the students are taking a break from their regular art projects to make some Mothers Day paintings. You will get to see their beautiful artwork in a couple weeks!
Music
We spent the first half of the class working on the Spanish and English versions of “Life is a Dance” by Karl Anthony. The rest of the time was devoted to a review of some of our favorite songs from our years together.