Literature Circle
Focus Questions: What makes ordinary people do extraordinary things to help their community or to fight for something they believe in? What things are worth fighting for? Our class unanimously concluded: FOLLOW OUR DREAMS! Our last literacy unit/topic this year is El llamado del deber (The Call of Duty). This week we spent time reflecting on our many gifts and talents and, in connection to our school Character’s Ed Unit, we talked about how we can use our skills and knowledge to help make the world a better place. It is always enlightening to hear so much wisdom and kindness from our 4th and 5th graders!
We were so excited to read Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. This masterpiece is a classic in the Spanish language. We spent our week analyzing the literary elements in the story, as well as the powerful theme and message.
Our kids never cease to amaze me! After reading Don Quijote, they came up with the idea of putting on a Don Quijote play. This is so brilliant and I cant wait to see what they will do! All I know is that the sky is the limit!
Science
Focus Question: What happens when to the soft-drink solution when you increase the amount of powder in a given amount of water?
This week in science, we discussed the concept of Concentration. Concentration is the amount of material dissolved in a measure of liquid – the more material dissolved in a liquid, the more concentrated the solution. We used some common everyday beverages to illustrate this concept: tea and powdered juice. Next week we will continue to explore this concept.
Students did a magnificent job this week during their science presentations! What a wonderful way to culminate such a successful science year!
History and Geography
This week we finished learning about Westward Expansion After the Civil War. Our objectives were:
- explain the terms and significance of the Homestead Act
- Describe the influence of technology on farming in the American West
- summarize events leading up to the Oklahoma Land Rush
- Explain why Russia wanted to sell Alaska
- Describe the public response to the Alaska Purchase
Mathematics
This week we continued learning about Surface Area and Volume. Our objectives were:
- draw a cube and a rectangular prism on dot paper
- complete a partially drawn cube and rectangular prism on dot paper
- Find the surface area of a prism by adding the area of each face
- Find the volumes of cubes and rectangular prisms
- Find the volume of a solid constructed from unit cubes
- compare volumes of cubes rectangular prisms and other objects
English Spelling
This week we finished out rotation and started our last rotation of the year! Our rotation days are:
- Writer’s Workshop: Students were tasked with working on a secret Father’s Day project!
- Blind Sort Test: Students tested each other on their spelling using the Blind Sort method
- Teacher Meeting: I met with each student to discuss and clarify their new sort.