Reading: Our fieldtrip to Beye School to see Christopher Paul Curtis was enlightening. He was a dynamic speaker, witty and relevant, and the kids loved hearing him speak. This week we also began our next unit in Treasures: "Teaming Up to Survive." We will connect this theme with our work in Hubbard Street and integrate our writing into the cross-curricular unit, too. Our first story is about a team of explorers' perilous journey to the Antarctic in 1915. We'll continue to read of their heroic adventure next week, during which we'll discuss plot, timeline, and the figurative language that the author uses to create suspense. It's a great opening story!
Writing: In addition to the "Shortcut stories" we're working on, we began a rough draft of an essay about "Teamwork." This essay will connect our reading theme with our work in Hubbard Street: the kids will use the same process to choreograph a dance as they use in writing (brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). We discussed the structure of an essay and worked on creating strong introductions.
I taught the kids how to log on to their District 97 Google-doc accounts. They learned how to create a Google Document, as well as how to share, comment, and edit their own and others' documents. We reviewed internet usage policies and discussed the purpose for using this technology feature. We'll use Google Docs so that the kids can type their Shortcut Stories within their teams, but use only one document to do so. They've shared their documents with me so that I can monitor (and continue to help with) their work. They're SO excited!
4th Grade Math: Next week we'll begin Unit 6: Division, Map Reference Frames, Measures of Angles. Please encourage your kids to continue practicing their math facts to improve their speed and accuracy. Some ways to do this are skip counting (3, 6, 9, 12...), flash cards, verbally quizzing each other, and using www.xtramath.org. Fourth grade is a pivotal year in math: students are asked to quickly become comfortable recalling their math facts in order to apply them to higher level thinking. It can feel tough really quickly if those basic facts aren't solid!
5th Grade Math: Check out Ms. Wennerberg's website and newsletter for updates: http://www.op97.org/swennerberg/
Science: We will begin our Ecosystems Unit this upcoming week. We still don't quite have enough bottles, so please keep sending them in. We plan to "borrow" from the other science classes who are collecting them for their spring unit. We'll need to reimburse them for their loan, and need about 60 bottles to do so. Thanks to those who've provided us with bottles; we truly couldn't do it without you!
Social Studies: Check out Ms. Wennerberg's website and newsletter for updates: http://www.op97.org/swennerberg/
Miscellaneous:
- I sent home a permission slip yesterday for two new fieldtrips. We'll visit Brooks Middle School on two different occasions in February; the permission slip covers both trips. Please send it in, signed, with $3.
