We had another fun-filled week of learning in room 24! We are working on addition and subtraction of fractions in math. The children are doing well with this new concept. Next week we will learn to add and subtract fractions by using a number line. We will also begin working with mixed numbers. This video will help with the concept of using a number line for addition. It may be helpful with homework next week.
During reading, we have continued to enjoy the adventures of Peter and his friends while reading Snow Treasure. We reread one of our chapters this week, and read "closely", looking for information to support our idea that Peter is brave. We answered a question about this using the chromebooks. You can view your child's work in their Google Classroom folder.
We also practiced visualizing our text. We read about a boat being camouflaged in this story, then drew an image of this. We enjoyed checking out each other's work!
One of our "HIGHs" of the week was our Mystery Skype. We enjoyed Skyping with a fourth grade class from Michigan. We asked some great questions to narrow down our choices.
We will have a science quiz next week (2/4), about the Weather. The students brought home a study guide yesterday. We will continue learning about the Northeast next week.
Our chorus concert was a HUGE success! Everyone sang beautifully and had a great time! Check out a few videos from our show below.
In math we continued learning about fractions, and took our first fraction assessment. The children did a great job!
We have continued to enjoy reading about the adventures of the Norwegian children in our IRA, Snow Treasure. We especially enjoy the cliffhangers. Here we are talking about the character in this book that we think we are most alike.
We reflected on our learning in both reading and math, choosing 1 thing that we are proud of and 1 goal for the next few months. We did a great job reflecting on this.
We have continued learning about the weather in science. This week, we specifically learned about snow, glaciers and icebergs. During Poetry/Technology Workshop we Skyped with Mrs. Williams' daughter, Livi, and she taught us how to cut snowflakes. We will be using these to inspire us to write snowflake poems next week. This is also a nice connection to our read aloud.
We have learned about the Geography of the Northeast as well. Next week, we will begin our "Jigsaw" learning about the NE. Your child will have much to share about this!
During math we have continued to learn about fractions. This is a big part of our math curriculum this year, and we will be working on learning concepts about fractions for a few more weeks. We have our first quiz on Wednesday. The students received a study guide on Wednesday, and we will spend time reviewing on Tuesday. If your child has any questions, please remind him/her to see Mrs. Merten before Wednesday.
Below are some strategies for comparing fractions. This chart may help your child with homework.
In Science we have continued to learn about water and how it relates to our weather. We will be learning more about snow and glaciers next week, and will schedule our next quiz after that.
During Social Studies, we started our travels across the United States with our first stop- the Northeast Region. We have identified the states in this region and have learned some general characteristics of our region. On Friday we had the opportunity to "meet" a fourth grade class from Pennsylvania! We participated in a Mystery Skype with this class, along with Mrs. Williams' class. This is a session where we asked and answered YES or NO questions of the other students. We used atlases to determine their location based on the answers to their questions. We have several other mysteries to solve in the next month.
We have been working on essay writing during Writer's Workshop. We have learned about the different types of essays and have been trying out some of our skills! Next week we will choose our topics, write our theses, and begin drafting. We are also wrapping up our weather poems.
During Reader's Workshop, we have continued to read our historical fiction and adventure story, Snow Treasure. We are focusing on author's craft, characters, genre and making connections across texts. Students are using close reading strategies to read and reread the text in order to support their thinking with clear evidence from the text.
From the Teacher's Desk Two weeks after vacation, we are moving forward rapidly with our learning! Unless the weather is very, very cold, we do our best to get outside for recess. Please be aware that we will be going out for 20 minutes, and that it can be quite cold out there! Use this link for the parent survey.
There will be no school Monday in order to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Have a great weekend!
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