The students wrote their second spelling pre-test of our word study program. Please keep in mind that your child may not always be studying the same word list each week. They may bounce back and forth between the "A" and "B" list depending on letter/sound patterns we are working on that week. The students used their word lists to complete their "Write and Draw" to show meaning and weekly spelling sentences.
We are still working on proper sentence writing. This week, the students completed an activity to compare complete and incomplete sentences. They also worked through another activity on identifying the "naming" and "telling" parts in the sentence.
For writing this week, the students used a paragraph planner to organize "sloppy copies" for their Pet Rock projects. We discussed different examples of introduction and conclusion sentences. We also talked about all of the ways to describe the pet rocks. Students were encouraged to add words and write more interesting sentences. For example...
My pet rock is blue and green. OR My pet rock is ocean blue with light green stripes.
My pet rock likes to go fishing. OR My pet rocks likes to go fishing down by the North Saskatchewan River.
After their sloppy copies were edited, they published them on their chrome books. The published copy has been placed with their rock outside the classroom. If are in the school, please stop by to check them out!
We read a few more stories in our Collections Series and completed the first book. We will be moving on to Fairy Tales next week. We were able to pause and discuss many different parts to The Catfish Palace. The moral of the story is that the world is not perfect and we will not always do things perfect ourselves. What is important is it is never too late to try and do things better.
We completed a making words activity this week. The students were given the letters that spell a word and had the task of making smaller words with the letters. This is a great activity and really challenges the students to build upon the small words they start with, using word families and phonics skills.
This week, we also completed the handwriting letter Qq. We are so impressed with the beautiful cursive writing we have seen with our students!
Right after morning recess, the students are given time to have a healthy morning snack. During this time, we chose a chapter book to read to the class while they are eating. We just finished Third Grade Angels and now we are reading Chocolate Touch.
In Math, we continued working on skip counting to make number patterns. This week the students were given both increasing (growing) and decreasing (shrinking) patterns and were asked whether it was an addition or subtraction pattern. They worked on finding the skip counting gap and extending the pattern.
The students also logged in to Mathletics this week. The school has provided each student with their own membership to Mathletics for the year. Your child can also log in at home, their log in information has been glued to the front page of their agenda.
We completed the last section of the lapbooks this week. The students created envelopes for their vocabulary words. The vocab words have definitions printed on the back of each on and can be used like flash cards. These will come in handy when studying for our unit test.
In Science, the students worked through a number of stations to test two rocks from their collection.
Magnifying Glasses- These were used to look closer at the rocks to see if it contained any luster or shiny minerals.
Sink or Float- The students placed their rock in a bucket of water to test if their rock would sink or float.
Hardness- The students used a metal nail, their fingernail and a penny to test the hardness of their rock. Then they compared their results to the minerals on the Moh's Hardness scale.
Carbonates- Vinegar was used to test if their rocks contained carbonates. They used an eyedropper to place a small amount of vinegar on their rock to see if it bubbled or fizzed.
Length - The students estimated and then measured the length of their rock and recorded it in their table.
On Monday, the students have been invited to bring in two special rocks for our ROCK TALK day so they can share their rocks with the class. If they do not have a rock collection at home, they are welcome to choose two rocks from their egg carton at school.
The students wrote their first Back and Forth journal entry. These will be sent home every Friday that they attend school. Please read through the week's entry with your child and reply in the space provided. The journals need to be returned by the following Friday.
In Physical Education, we have been working on proper warm ups, stretches and cooperative games.
Congratulations to our first Student of the Week!!! |Way to go, sweetie! The VIP in our classroom will have Special Sharing at the end of each week and will be the classroom helper!
