Reading: We finished describing genres and began organizing our reading notebooks. Students are all reading chapter books and practicing recording reading thoughts in their notebooks. We also spent time in the computer lab taking the STAR reading assessment. This assessment is a snapshot of a reader's comprehension skills. I will include their score in the Friday Folder. Next week, we will also take the DRA reading assessment which adds to my understanding of each reader. For this assessment, I will listen to each reader and they will respond in writing to a short story. This information helps me decidde how to support each reader's growth.
Writing: Writers are still focused on developing their I AM poem. Our work has focused on descriptive words and phrases. We are drafting later this week. We will also look at some poetry stucture before we handwrite their poems. When ipads are rolled out, one of our first tasks will be to use iMovie to make a movie of this autobiographical poem.
Math: As mathmagicians, we are focusing on pace value, especially in decimals. We will read, write, and compare decimals to the thousandths place. This unit provides a deeper understanding of the quantity of decimals and games are often used to give kids practice with comparing decimals.
Social Studies: Each day we our discussing landforms around the world and often using numbers in math to describe them. Students are also working on their world maps for at least 30 minutes a day. This Friday, we will begin to focus on our island close up maps also.
Science: During science time, we are using our observations to collect, organize, and analyze data. Our first model experiment will be about trees and their leaves and will use data collected at Stewart Park. This experiment will be performed in groups and as a class to model experimental design components such as variables constants, hypothesis, data tables, graphs, and conclusions.
