Today we had Ms. Lane teaching for the first half of the day while I proctored a test in another room.

Our field trip yesterday was wonderful, and I was very proud of how the class did.

Happy Monday! 

In reading we are still working on analyzing fiction texts.  One of the stories we are reading this week is a narrative poem.  The lesson in the poem is not simple to figure out, and I am very pleased with some of the work I am seeing done so far. 

Today we started our official chapter on fractions.  I anticipate this chapter going quickly because we have already been exposed to fractions quite a bit this winter. 

Today we worked on an art project showing what we've learned about Early Northwest Coastal art.  Our goal was to make our art with the proper colors and shapes as well as using symmetry. 

Tomorrow we will be doing a science experiment and discussing how sound travels through different materials and why.

Hello!  Sorry that it has been a while. 

This week we finished our unit on multiplication and division story problems.  We will be moving into Fractions next week.

Today we started our unit on Sound.  We discussed what vibrations are.  We also discussed the different categories of instruments and which instruments fall into each set. 

In social studies we discussed common characteristics of different Native American art pieces from the Pacific Northwest, and next week we will be making our own Native American style art works.

Today we had our second class party.  We earn them during moments when the whole class is meeting expectations.  The students voted and chose to have a "nap time".

We started using bar models for multiplication.  These seemed easier for the class in general than the addition and subtraction models. 

During reading we talked about the grandmother in The Raft she is a very interesting character, and we discussed the fact that they boys problem (not wanting to be at his grandma's house because it is boring) is a problem for the grandmother also. 

Tomorrow we will be discussing the theme of The Raft, and moving into multi-step story problems for multiplication.

I spent a long part of the weekend reading student's responses to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, I have a Dream.  I was so impressed with the insightful, meaningful responses that these kids had.  Bravo!

Today we read Jim LaMarche's The Raft.  It is the story of a little boy who has to spend his summer in the country.  At first he is apprehensive.  He thinks the country is boring because his Grandmother's cabin there has no T.V.  Then he learns to appreciate the natural world around him through his exploration of the river on a raft he found.  By the end of the story the boy finds himself feeling quite happy and at home in the country.

In math we are going to start working on bar models for multiplication and division.  We will also continue talking about fractions.

Today during reading we talked about how the solution to a problem in a story is usually very closely related to the theme of the story.  For example in the story Stellaluna, Stellaluna solves her problems when she learns to be herself, and the theme of that story is BE YOURSELF. 

In math we learned what a remainder is and how to solve division equations that have them.  We will be practicing that skill more tomorrow with some fun challenges for those who've mastered the idea.

We also started making our longhouses today.  Not only is this a good activity for learning about Native American culture, but it is also a wonderful chance to practice math skills.  We were measuring and calculating to make rectangular prisms with roofs that fit.  We will also be measuring the area and perimeter of our long houses later on.

Tuesday folders are coming home today.  There is a book order in it for you to look at!  Spring break is fast approaching.  If you want some new books to read together, you can order them from the February catalogue and have them before the long break. 

We had a wonderful science assembly!  Thank you PTA!!

We had a couple of great conversations today.  We talked for a while about the setting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech.  We had a nice discussion that concluded with us talking about how if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech didn't have the historical context that it did, it wouldn't have changed us the way that it changed us.  Despite the fact that the speech is a non-fiction text, I tied it into our fiction texts.  We related his story to the idea that characters are affected by their setting.

We also talked about photography, and how to make visually interesting photos that make a statement.

I apologize that it has been so long since I've posted for you.  We have been working extra hard.  We had a great day today.  We earned lots of buttons for our class button jar, and we got 5 minutes of extra recess because we were so focused all day today.  It was a great way to end the week.
We will be doing a book of our poetry and photography for the PTA auction.  For more information please email me.  carrie.childs@highlineschools.org.