This week during Math we began to learn a new concept- DIVISION. Though it seemed scary at first, we are doing well. As you may have noticed, this division is VERY different from how many adults learned. The method we are using for division is "Low - Stress" Division (also called Partial Quotients). You can find a few videos demonstrating this on our blog, and by clicking here. We are working on making other videos to help with this skill during Technology Workshop. We have been taking this slow, so that the children can master one step at a time. Of course, knowing multiplication and division facts automatically will help your child with this process. You may have noticed that math fact practice is now part of our regular homework! Our division assessment is tentatively scheduled for December 17th.
Reading/Writing
We have been reading Little Dog Lost by Marion Dane Bauer. This book is written in poetry form, and it about a boy who longs for a dog, and about a dog who needs an owner. We are discussing theme and author's craft during this interactive read aloud. Children are starting to look for similes and personification in their own reading as well. During Writer's Workshop, the children are planning for writing fiction stories. This is a wonderful connection to our reading, as we are really "reading like writers" and "writing like readers". This simply means that we are looking at our books and trying to analyze the author's craft- finding things we can include in our writing. We also look at our writing and consider if it is interesting enough for someone to read.
Science
We have started our unit about Weather. This unit will be broken down into smaller units in order to be more manageable for the students. We have started with Earth's atmosphere and forecasting the weather. There will be an open notes quiz prior to the December break.
Social Studies
We have started our study of Canada. At this time we have learned about the varied climates in Canada, and where Canada is in relation to the United States. We will continue this unit, learning about Natural Resources/Economy, Natives in Canada (First Nations) and the history of Canada. We have an assessment scheduled for 12/18.
Poetry/Technology Workshop
During Poetry Workshop, we have started to learn about author Robert Louis Stevenson. Students are writing holiday couplets during the month of December. During Tech, we have been working on creating videos to either explain a difficult math concept or to recommend a book to someone. The children are VERY excited about this and can share what they are working on with you!
DANCE PARTY FRIDAY WAS AWESOME THIS WEEK!
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