January 21-24

The highlight of the week is that we got our frogs and crabs.  We are observing our animals as a way to learn more about their structural and behavioral adaptations. The can see how they act throughout the day and understand why they have the various body parts they do. This week we will be doing more observations as we learn how to help take care of them in their habitats.

Here the males have the larger claw- a very obvious adaptation.

In language arts we finished reading Soft Rain and will be doing a wrap up activity to show what we learned though the book over the last 3 weeks.  We should be finishing up Holes this week too.

We are starting a new PROBE on animal adaptations. This is similar to the one they did last quarter, but this time around they are more independent.

We will be finishing up our research reports this week. They are due FRIDAY, regardless of inclement weather. They do not have to be typed, but may be if they choose. We have two blocks of time on Thursday and Friday in the lab for those who choose to type.  This is also a time when they can use their jump drives to type at home if they wish.

We have spent several weeks going through the various steps to make a good research report. Below are the pictures of my paper that I modeled as we went through each part.  I referenced a hamburger or sandwich for working with topic and conclusion sentences- that's how a paragraph starts and ends. They should also be similar to each other, with just a few tweaks.  Then there is the good stuff in the middle, the details. Peanut butter and jelly are not as good alone, it much better on bread. Just like two slices of bread are just bread without the PBJ. They all work together.

Sorry about the orientation, my iPad isn't reorienting. 

In math we are working on fractions. Last week we made fraction strips that should be in binders. This week we begin exploring equivalent fractions. Depending on time, we may do an activity with food/candy towards the end of the unit.

January 13-17

Electronic game day was a success. It's funny for me to observe the kids and how they interact with technology. I had to ask them what their toys were, they look just like iPhones to me. The enjoyed playing on their various devices and listening to music.

We also had the spelling bee today and I am proud to announce that Annika win third place. First and second places went to fifth graders. Congrats to all the participants from our class!

In math this week we focused in patterns. Student s chose to work with pattern blocks and/or whiteboards. They were given basic steps and created various patterns for thier partners to solve. We also worked with number patterns and input/output tables. Then we had a short quiz on Friday. We also reviewed perimeter and area from last week since the grades were not great. They were given a few more questions to work out to improve their grade.

In Language Arts we continue reading Soft Rain and exploring theme, mood, characters, etc.  We wrapped up the research part of our animals project and will begin drafting this week. We wrote out topic sentences and conclusion sentences as well. Next week we will focus more n the structure of a research report.

In science this week we got our African Dwarf frogs and began observing them in their habitat. We created a habitat that would provide them with their needs. As we observe, we are also looking out for adaptations they have. Next week we will set up a habitat for crabs and begin observing them as we'll. Mrs. Schmedding's son came in on Friday and shared his bearded dragon and shared various adaptations it has. The class loved it!

New year. New quarter. Fresh start. 1/2-1/10

This quarter in reading we are focused in historical fiction. We are reading Soft Rain and exploring what makes a text historical fiction. We are using it as our model text as we learn the different roles of our literature circle groups. As we read, we are focusing on context clues, inferences, mood, theme, reactions, asking questions, and such. We will be reading and exploring figurative language as well.

In writing we are researching animal adaptations.  We are going through the research process and using print and online resources. Last week we practiced writing topic sentences for each paragraph.  We will be working on concluding sentences this week and wrapping up our research.

In math we are working with area and perimeter. We explored different areas with the same perimeter and discovered patterns. We broke down various word problems and discovered how to use the perimeter or area to fins the missing side. We also took a short assessment on Friday. 

We also explored various quadrilaterals and sorted them based on their angles and sides.

In science we are beginning our animal studies unit. We are starting with learning about nutrition. The class has been learning about planning a healthy meal and eating all of the food groups. Students made a sample meal plan for a day. I challenged them to change some of the foods they eat to make sure they are eating a balanced diet. I have even shared how I am adjusting my calories too.

There are some great games kids can play at my plate.gov. Unfortunately we were not able to explore the games due to technical difficulties.

 We took a virtual field trip to Mc Donald's to learn about different food choices. We talked about the man who only ate at McDonalds for a month and lost 37 pounds. We saw how this is possible based on some of the lower calorie choices.

Specials this week:

Computer

Art

PE

Music

Friday is early release, so we will not have specials. We will be having electronics day as a reward for filling our ticket jar. We will also be having hot cocoa left over from our polar express party. We are in need of some cups.  Please comment below if you can bring in some. Thank you!

*No school on Monday, January 20. Enjoy your long weekend!

Polar express party

We had a great last day of school before tack out. Those days are always a little crazy- especially with the holidays over track out. The class enjoyed wearing their pajamas to school along with their slippers, animals, and blankets. We watched the Polar Express at the very end of the day and were treated with hot cocoa with whipped cream and marshmallows. They also got popcorn and Oreos and bottled water to wash everything down.

Since technology is not my friend, the bulb on the projector popped with about 10 minutes left of the movie. Thankfully Mrs. Schmedding's class was watching the movie too, so we ran across the hall and watched the rest with them. 

Our delicious treats all set up in the hall

We had quite the spread set up in the hall complete with a popcorn machine!

A very special thank you to everyone who helped out, especially Mrs. DuBrow who spearheaded the campaign. The kids had a wonderful afternoon!