Friday, November 17, 2017

Week in Review: November 13-17

What a fun week we have had leading up to our Thanksgiving break! We started and ended the week with two wonderful assemblies to celebrate International Children's week. After doing lots of online research, as well as reading non-fiction books about England, students created their own Google Drawings with what they have learned about England. These turned out really well, and are now on display in our classroom. We also had a visit from Mrs. Chuchmach who taught us even more interesting facts about England.














In science, we completed investigations on earthquakes and landslides, and then wrapped up out unit on landforms and earth changes with a test on Friday.

















We enjoyed our field trip to see Ramona Quimby performed by Westwood High School students on Tuesday. We followed the performance with a picnic lunch at Brushy Creek Lake Park, and it was a beautiful day for it!




In language arts, we are beginning to learn about expository writing, and the different text structures that go along with that. So far, we have focused on descriptive writing. We read a descriptive article about the octopus, and students learned a method of note-taking called boxes and bullets. On Friday, students used the boxes and bullets strategy to plan a Thanksgiving writing piece. We brainstormed things and people they are thankful for, and students had to narrow it down to three and created a three paragraph poster about what they are thankful for.


In math we are continuing to learn about fractions, and as always, we do lot of hands on exploration so they can really grasp the big concepts. Our next skill is division, and we will work on that shortly after returning from Thanksgiving. Before the winter break, we will have test over fractions and division.











I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving break. When we come back on the 27th, we will only have 4 weeks of school until winter break. That is just crazy to think that we are almost halfway through the school year!

Friday, November 10, 2017

Week in Review: November 6-10

This week in science, we began our study of fast land changes such as earthquakes and volcanoes. Our UT intern led the students in a hands on lesson building volcanoes that they really enjoyed. Typically we do this lesson outside, but with the cold and wet weather, we had to adapt to building volcanoes inside.




















We also learned about how the movement of tectonic plates is what causes earthquakes. We used graham crackers to represent the tectonic plates, and red frosting to represent magma.










For social studies, we began doing research on England, which is the country assigned to us for International Children's Festival. Next week, students will take the information they learned and create a Google Drawing about England. On Thursday, we took some time to learn about the significance of Veterans Day, so that students would better understand Friday's special assembly to honor our Veterans.













Veterans Day Assembly



In math, students took a test over multiplication on Monday, and then we moved right into fractions on Tuesday. So far, we have learned about area model fractions and fractions in a set. We use lots of manipulatives in math in order to help them physically see the fraction representations. So far, they are doing a great job!

Folding and shading paper squares for area models of fractions.





Exploring set models of fractions.





In language arts, we worked on research skills to tie in with our England research for social studies. We learned a lot about non-fiction text features and how they can help us find information in non-fiction books. We also enjoyed an author visit on Monday, and got a chance to preview the book fair on Friday.

Learning about non-fiction text features with Touch and Talk












Next week is a super busy week! Here are some of the important things going on:
  • International Children's Festival kickoff assembly Monday morning
  • Field trip on Tuesday to the RRISD Performing Arts Center to see a production of "Ramona" put on by Westwood High School
  • Counselor lesson on Wednesday morning
  • Visiting our kindergarten buddies on Thursday
  • International Children's Festival closing assembly Friday afternoon
  • Reminder: no school at all during the week of Thanksgiving!
Have a wonderful weekend!