Language Arts
We had a very busy and full week! We discussed how to make a noun plural/nombre plural. We talked about how -es- is added to a noun ending in a consonant as in líder/líderes. When a noun ends in z, the noun ending is changed to -ces- like in lápiz /lápices. When a noun ends in a vowel, an s is added like in escuela/escuelas. Each student also showed their understanding of using the correct masculine/feminine and plural article for each spelling word.
We played our word wall game this week and discovered more verbs and practiced using the correct pronouns with each one. We also played our Spanish Armada verb game to help the kiddos practice the different verb tenses.
We continued working on writing our narrative fairy tales. We focused on description of characters, conflict/argumento and setting/ambiente. I am so impressed by the creativity that the kiddos are expressing in their stories!
Ortografia/Spelling: Spelling sentences due Thursday.
sirve- he/she serves
veo- I see
acomodó- he/she arranged
veces- times
estremeció- He shuddered
famoso- famous
autos- cars
libreros- book shelves
papeles- papers
ingeniosa- witty
Math
This week we continued our unit on time. The students were able to show time in numbers and in words but I think their favorite way to show time was on their personal manipulative clocks. We also discussed the differences between a.m. and p.m. and talked about the different things we might be doing in the a.m. and the p.m. We also learned about the difference between midnight/medianoche and afternoon/tarde. Finally, we discussed elapsed time and practiced associating the meaning of a period of time with the time spent doing a particular activity. Next week we will begin our metric unit.
Social Studies
Our main focus was working on our biographies this week. Students wrote about a person we have learned about who played a key roll in the Civil War. Everyone wrote their report and worked on making a paper doll representing their person. We will display the finished work on our classroom bulletin board. Luke did a good job sharing a report on the Civil War with the class. On Friday we had our “Civil War” day. Students came dressed like their biography person, if they chose to. We made corn husk dolls, enjoyed peppermint sticks and cornbread, and made cartoon sticks.
Science
This week we began our final science unit on Simple Machines. We started a Simple Machine journal and recorded the definitions for motion, energy, power, work, force, effort, and distance. We did an experiment to demonstrate how machines help us work. The class divided into two groups to make butter (one by shaking a jar and the other by using a mixer) and timed how long each took. We found that the group using the machine took a shorter amount of time and used less effort. On Thursday we played a game of “Force Charades” where students acted out a simple action and the class had to identify if they were using a push or pull kind of force. On Friday we read two books, one on friction and the other about simple machines.
English Spelling/Writing
During our writing and spelling time this week we practiced, practiced, practiced. We wrote our words 3 times, sorted in several ways, wrote out our list in alphabetical order, and practiced with a partner. I expect everyone to do very well on this week’s spelling test. For our journals we wrote a diary entry from the perspective of someone either from the south or the north during the Civil War.
Music
We concentrated this week on traditional Americana, learning “This Land is Your Land,” “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” and “Old Dan Tucker.”