Our Week In Review

During our "End of the Week Meeting", many students shared that their "high" of the week was reading and finishing the graphic novel Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke.  During this Interactive Read Aloud we focused on setting a personal reading goal, as well as how to read a graphic novel.  We discussed how the pictures in a graphic novel are as important as the words, and that to thoroughly read one, you should focus on both carefully.  Every student is anxiously waiting to read the sequel to this book, Mighty Jack and the Goblin King.  We have one class copy, and one reserved from Mrs. Merten's library should arrive soon.  We also began sharing the books we love through Book Talks this week.  Check our tweets (on the right panel or on twitter @mertenladybugs) for up to date tweets of our book talks. What a great way to practice public speaking and share our love of reading!  Some authors of our books even liked our tweets!  We have students signed up for Book Talks for the next few weeks!

During math, we have been working on Multiplication.  Though this is largely review from third grade, the students have been learning some new strategies to help get the answer to an unknown multiplication fact.  In addition , students should be practicing facts regularly, in order to become more  automatic with facts.  We will continue with this unit through next week, with our test tentatively scheduled for the following week.

Our puff mobiles are coming along, and the children truly persevered through some difficult challenges.  They are learning the importance of careful planning  before acting on an idea and collaboration.  Despite the fact that some puff mobiles aren't finished, the teams continue to work on redesigning with a positive attitude!!!  Our race is WEDNESDAY!

During Science this week, we learned about the water cycle.  We created terrariums on Friday, and began to observe the water cycle.  We will use these terrariums to observe the water cycle and to explore plant adaptations.

From the Teacher's Desk

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Looking Ahead:

• We will continue to learn about multiplication strategies.
• During Social Studies, we will continue the study of maps, globes and how to use latitude and longitude to find exact location.  Our test is scheduled for 10/16 (a study guide will follow).
• We will begin  reading Mr. Popper's Penguins, and will continue this for the next several weeks during reading.
• We will finish our name research paragraphs and share them with one another.