This week in language arts, we continued our study of traditional literature by reading some myths and legends. Students also began planning a legend of their own, and next week, they will take one of their fictional stories through the writing process to create a final draft. We will begin a new spelling list of homophones on Monday as well, so look for those to come home!
In science, we began learning about natural resources, conservation and composting. We will continue this unit for the next one and a half to two weeks.
In math, we are learning about area, including how to find the area of a rectangle by multiplying the length of two adjoining sides, as well as how to find the area of composite shapes by breaking them down into rectangles. Next, we will move onto 3 dimensional shapes.
Economics is of course our main focus for social studies, as students prepare for the Economics Fair. Students are excited about their ideas, and I can't wait to see the end results! Mark your calendars for March 12 if you want to check it out!
This week was extra special because our student teacher, Ms. Na, joined us. I am excited to have her in class, as she is a great help to me. She has been spending the week getting to know the kids, and helping them one-on-one or in small groups as needed.
Friday, January 25, 2019
Friday, January 18, 2019
Two weeks in Review: January 8-18
Happy New Year! I am happy to be back in the classroom for the spring semester with your children! We have had a busy two weeks, and I apologize for the lack of an update after the first week. Here is a brief overview of what we have done, and what is to come next week.
Math - We continued exploring 2-dimensional shapes and really learning the differences between types of quadrilaterals (rhombus, parallelogram, rectangle, square and trapezoid). On our first Friday back, we enjoyed a fun geometry scavenger hunt throughout the school, taking photos of various shapes with the iPads. We just started learning about area this Friday, and will continue with that into next week. Not only will we learn how to find the area of a simple rectangle, but we will also learn how to decompose a non-rectangular shape into composite shapes so we can determine the total area.
Science - Thanks for the soil samples you all sent in last week! We have been able to closely examine lots of different soils and learn what soil is made up of and how it forms. Ask your child about our soil shakes activity, where we added water to our samples, shook them up really well, and then watched as the samples settled into very distinct layers. It really helped students to see the variety of materials that make up soil. Next week, we begin studying natural resources and the importance of conservation.
Language Arts - We spent our first week back wrapping up our biography unit with students working in small biography books clubs to read a picture book biography, and then create an informational poster about the person they read about. This week, we began a unit on traditional literature which includes folk tales, fables, myths, legends, and even tall tales and fairy tales. We are reviewing lots of reading strategies and skills throughout this unit such as story elements, determining theme, summarizing, making inferences, and identifying sensory language. This unit will continue into the next 2 weeks. Students will even be writing their own fairy tale or tall tale!
Social Studies - Week one of social studies was simply working on building our classroom community again. We re-evaluated and updated our class social contract and reviewed what it means to have a growth mindset so that we are always doing our best work. During week 2, we focused our learning on Martin Luther King, Jr. so that students would have a better understanding of (the significance of the upcoming MLK holiday. (Don't forget...no school on Monday!) Next week, we begin our unit on economics and students will be participating in the third grade Economics Fair, which is always a highlight of our year. Look for more information coming home on Tuesday about that.
This semester, our class is fortunate enough to have a student teacher from Texas State University working in our room. Ms. Na begins on Tuesday January 22, but students had a chance to meet her Thursday afternoon. She will be in our classroom full-time until early May, and will be a great asset to our learning community!
I hope you all enjoy the three day weekend, and I will see students on Tuesday morning.
Math - We continued exploring 2-dimensional shapes and really learning the differences between types of quadrilaterals (rhombus, parallelogram, rectangle, square and trapezoid). On our first Friday back, we enjoyed a fun geometry scavenger hunt throughout the school, taking photos of various shapes with the iPads. We just started learning about area this Friday, and will continue with that into next week. Not only will we learn how to find the area of a simple rectangle, but we will also learn how to decompose a non-rectangular shape into composite shapes so we can determine the total area.
Science - Thanks for the soil samples you all sent in last week! We have been able to closely examine lots of different soils and learn what soil is made up of and how it forms. Ask your child about our soil shakes activity, where we added water to our samples, shook them up really well, and then watched as the samples settled into very distinct layers. It really helped students to see the variety of materials that make up soil. Next week, we begin studying natural resources and the importance of conservation.
Language Arts - We spent our first week back wrapping up our biography unit with students working in small biography books clubs to read a picture book biography, and then create an informational poster about the person they read about. This week, we began a unit on traditional literature which includes folk tales, fables, myths, legends, and even tall tales and fairy tales. We are reviewing lots of reading strategies and skills throughout this unit such as story elements, determining theme, summarizing, making inferences, and identifying sensory language. This unit will continue into the next 2 weeks. Students will even be writing their own fairy tale or tall tale!
Social Studies - Week one of social studies was simply working on building our classroom community again. We re-evaluated and updated our class social contract and reviewed what it means to have a growth mindset so that we are always doing our best work. During week 2, we focused our learning on Martin Luther King, Jr. so that students would have a better understanding of (the significance of the upcoming MLK holiday. (Don't forget...no school on Monday!) Next week, we begin our unit on economics and students will be participating in the third grade Economics Fair, which is always a highlight of our year. Look for more information coming home on Tuesday about that.
This semester, our class is fortunate enough to have a student teacher from Texas State University working in our room. Ms. Na begins on Tuesday January 22, but students had a chance to meet her Thursday afternoon. She will be in our classroom full-time until early May, and will be a great asset to our learning community!
I hope you all enjoy the three day weekend, and I will see students on Tuesday morning.
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