Weekly Update

Math: Mathmagicians did an amazing job on their fraction test last week!  This test is in the Friday Folder so enjoy looking over it before sending back on Monday.  This week we began our variables learning.  With Ms. Sweeny, students connected variables to science as "something that can change".  Students have practiced describing expressions with multiple operations using words.  They are practicing plugging in values for variables and solving algebraic expressions.  Today, we used chocolate cookie baking directions s to help quench our appetite for the Order of Operations!

Here's a review for parents!  Solve: thirteen minus one plus four divided by two

Reading: Readers this week focused on three major story elements: setting, characters, and plot.  Students reviewed describing characters and setting with evidence from their books.  They also drew a setting visualization which will help with our Eco dioramas.  Students wrote plot descriptions too including the main plot ideas.  Next week, we will focus on main and supporting problems.  To the right are some setting visions so far.


Writing: Another wow:  Writers did an amazing job on their Explorer narratives!  Every student demonstrated an increase in their narrative writing score from the beginning of the year.  This is astonishing!  I have never seen this type of improvement so I am super excited to see our growth during the opinion writing cycle.  Students finished flash drafts of their research based opinion writing on chocolate milk in the cafeteria.  We will be using these first drafts to choose areas to focus on for the rest of the opinion writing cycle where students will collect research and write opinions on a different topic.  We also solidified more word study routines this week and will continue word study next week.

Social Studies: Historians kicked off studying about the American Revolution learning by organizing causes of the Revolution into a flow chart. Ms. Sweeny will be using images, video clips, role playing and nonfiction reading to analyze more causes of the Revolution next week.  Topics will include the French and Indian War, Sons of Liberty, taxation without representation, Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre.  We also gain ideas about this time period from various read alouds and our learning about the Revolution supports our opinion writing.

Science:  We finished our Power unit on making good decisions and staying drug free.  Students took a test on this unit today.  Next week, we will be jumping back into our Gardens as Ecosystems work and start Solar System learning.  Students will be analyzing the results of our community garden survey and our university scientist will have a presentation on bees and their role in the garden ecosystem.  For our solar system work, we will start recording moon phases and look at the characteristics of the planets in our solar system.