Classroom Summary for April 1 - 5

Here's what we did this week...

In Fundations we reviewed our previously learned syllable types and vowel sounds. We also spent more time practicing the trick words we've accumulated over the year. We will add three more ways to spell the long /o/ sound next week: /oa/, /ow/ and /oe/.

In math we finished our fifth unit of Investigations about charts, tables and patterns of number. Next week we will be working in unit six where we will review story problem strategies and use our knowledge of place value, tens and ones to solve more difficult two-digit addition and subtraction problems. We will be reviewing breaking apart numbers to add tens and ones together, adding on to/subtracting from a larger number, as well as our tried and true former strategies. We will be explaining our thinking using pictures, numbers and/or words. As always, we continue to work on our math facts on www.xtramath.org in the classroom each morning.

In Miss Varrell's reading group we practiced 'taking notes' as we read nonfiction books. We used sticky notes to write 2-3 facts per chapter we read. Next week we will finish our fact-finding missions and we will learn how to write a nonfiction summary.

In writing we began Poetry Month by reading and listening to all sort of poems by all different poets. We read from anthologies and collections and discovered that reading poetry can be fun! We will begin to write some simple poetry next week.

In Social Studies we continued working in our Landforms and Bodies of Water booklets to help us learn and remember the different landforms and bodies of water that are found all over the world. We also began a new project with Mrs. D'Elia learning about our families' cultures. We reviewed the parts of a nonfiction book to highlight what we will be including in the e-books we will be making with Mr. Callahan in the near future! We also began to collect sources of information for our projects: primary sources (interviews with family members) and secondary sources (books and websites). Next week we will start collecting information about our chosen country.

In Science this week we had a special visit from Ms. Pavlicek! She taught us the science of maple sugaring. We learned about the tools needed and why maple sugaring happens in the early spring. We had a little introduction to  force and work and we reviewed how gravity (learned last year) applies to running sap. We got to go outside and tap a tree! Here are some of the tools we used:

drill and bit     spile     wire    jug    measuring tape     hammer (mallet)

Next week we will check to see if any sap collected in the jug!

Weekend Music Challenge Activity: Watch/listen to the video below. Create some dance steps that match the music and fit the 'spirit' of the message. On Monday, you can show us your moves!

F.Y.I.

Here's a great anti-bullying video that your children may enjoy watching. The video is made with excerpts from the movie Bully that was released last year.