1/2 Week 29

by | Apr 19, 2019 | In The Loop

History & Geography

Our field trip to the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center was a great success! Thank you to all the parents who drove and helped with the scavenger hunt.  There was so much information that related to our Westward expansion unit.  They did a great job of finding evidence in their scavenger hunts. This week in Americans Move West, we had a wonderful presentation by Owen’s grandfather, Dick.  He talked about the building of the transcontinental railroad and his family history of settling in the West.  He shared lots of pictures and family heirlooms. The students even got to practice how the conductor use to collect messages from the station platform with out stopping the train.

Our  weekly objectives were to: 

• recognize the challenges faced by Cowboys, farmers, and miners in the West.
• understand how a cattle drive worked

Science

This week in our Simple Machine domain we learned about wedges.  The class did an experiment with apples and clay using non wedges and wedges to separate each material. The class had fun finding examples of simple machines on their field trip too.
Our weekly objectives were to:
• identify that a wedge is a simple machine that is also a small inclined plane that is used as a tool
• identify everyday objects that are wedges

 

English Spelling and Writing

In our journals we used the idiom of the week ” does the cat have your tongue?” .  The class worked on a spelling assignment and took their final spelling test .  Our Word Wall words were: too, use

La lectura

This week we read El dinosaurio que vivía en mi jardín.

Our weekly objectives were to:

  • Review our PUF and vocabulary words before reading
  • Use our comprehension strategies during our first read
  • Use the new skill Fact vs. Opinion during our second read
  • understand the contractions al and del
  • review synonyms

Students also began the Rockin’ Readers Challenge this week. They have been tasked with reading 100 minutes before the end of April. We want to encourage students to read in both English and Spanish. Students can earn prizes for reaching milestones in each language.

Las matemáticas

This week we began learning about Lines and Surfaces. Our weekly objectives were to:

  • recognize, identify, and describe parts of lines and curves
  • draw parts of lines and curves
  • identify, classify, and count flat and curved surfaces
  • identify solids that can stack, slide, and/or roll

 

Specialists:

Character Ed with Ms. Jennie

Over the past few months we have focused on the themes of Courage (February), Overcoming Adversity (March), and Appreciation of Nature (April). We’ve read some great books and had good discussions. We’ve also continued to focus on one poem each month and in June will have a special poetry day to celebrate. Kids are encouraged to find a poem they love and either practice reading it in order to present it, or go for the extra challenge of memorizing it. This is NOT required but highly encouraged! It strengthens kids’ confidence to stand up in front of the class and read or recite something! Poetry day will be on June 5th.
 
In May, we will continue to focus on appreciating nature along with our annual May tradition of talking about and celebrating other cultures. Our culminating project for this topic will be our 4th Annual Bake Sale to raise money for a special cause. This year we will be raising money for the Ryan’s Well Foundation, which was born out of a six-year old’s desire to help dig a well for people without access in Uganda. Check out this inspiring story here: https://www.ryanswell.ca/about-ryans-well/ryans-story/ This ties in so well to our own water fountain “project” this year and hopefully will remind our kids that no matter what your age, you can make a difference in the world! The Bake Sale will be held outside after school on Wednesday, May 29th. We will ask for your participation in donating a batch of baked goods to sell. More information to come!