History & Geography

This week we finished our Ancient India unit and took the assessment. We had a presentation on modern day Buddhism by Carla and we got to try an assortment of Indian food.  Our field trip to the Lan Su  Chinese Garden and the Golden Horse restaurant was great!  We were introduced to a variety of Chinese cultures and traditions.  This was a wonderful way to kick off our next section on Ancient China.

Our objectives
• find China on a map and identify some important land forms
• understand the role of China’s rivers in the formation of this ancient civilization
• describe how China’s rivers have been both helpful and destructive

Science

This week in our science domain Cycles in Nature, we continued to learn about the life cycle of a chicken. We learned about the different parts of an egg and how it changes once it’s fertilized. The class watched a fast motion video that showed the chicken fetus developing inside the egg.  We also did and egg experiment examining density.

Our objectives were to:
• explain that a cycle is a sequence of events that repeats itself again and again
• identify the stages of the life cycle of a chicken (egg to egg)
• identify and label the different parts of a chicken egg
• explain how freshwater and saltwater affect an egg’s ability to float.

English Writing/Spelling

In our journals we used the idiom of the week, “He has butterflies in his stomache ” and we also wrote about the cycle of a chicken egg.  For spelling I met with each group and went over the new sorts. Our word wall words this week were

La lectura

This week we read Tomás y la señora de la biblioteca.

Our weekly objectives were to:

• review all the high frequency words we have learned this unit
• use the comprehension strategies adjusting reading speed and summarizing as we read the story the first time

We had so much fun at the Pumpkin Run this week, it was great seeing kiddos cheering each other on.

Next week we will continue reviewing high frequency words from this unit!

Las matemáticas

This week we began working with subtraction up to 1,000. Our weekly objectives were to:

• use base 10 blocks to subtract numbers with and without regrouping
• subtract from three-digit numbers with and without regrouping
• apply the inverse operation of addition and subtraction
• solve real-world subtraction problems

Specialists:

Character Education 

This month we are focusing on the theme of responsibility. We are talking about what this means in practical terms and of course it includes everything from helping our parents/families and doing our schoolwork to taking responsibility for our mistakes by telling the truth, apologizing, and accepting the consequences (no excuses, blame-shifting, etc.). We have a fun little song to the tune of Mickey Mouse that helps us remember what responsibility looks like. We read the Aesop’s fable The Ant and the Grasshopper about the responsible ant who stored up food for the winter and the lazy grasshopper who lazed around instead. And then we’ll be reading Horton Hatches the Egg next week! We are focusing on how our actions have consequences!