by Jill & Sarah | Feb 22, 2019 | In The Loop
History & Geography
This week we finished our unit on the making of the Constitution. We will take our unit assessment next Monday. We learned more about James Madison and his role in making the Constitution as well as his other accomplishments. We imagine what it would have been like to be at the Constitutional Convention and why our founding fathers needed to keep this meeting a secret. We learned about how the Constitution was approved and we took a closer look at the actual Constitution. The class had fun taking a break from our regular routine to participate in some fun 100’s day activities on Thursday.
• Understand that many patriotic Americans were afraid of the Constitution
• Identify James Madison as important to getting the Constitution ratified
• Understand why many people wanted a Bill of Rights
• Recognize the opening words of the Constitution
Science
Insects from home
This week we read more about insects that glow and sing and we also learned about the armored tanks of the insect world, beetles. The class had fun putting together movable paper beetle models and coloring them. We looked to Rose and Blue, our classroom beetles, for examples of the exoskeleton “armor” they have to protect themselves. We talked a little more about the insects reports on Friday , students are bringing them home this weekend to complete another page in them, March 8 will be the due date for reports and models. Students will be giving presenting on their insect Thursday, March 14 in class. Parents are welcome to attend.
Our weekly objectives were to:
• Describe an insect’s exoskeleton
• Explain why beetles are considered the “armored tanks” of the insect world
• Explain how beetles’ wings are different from other insects
• Understand that beetles make up two-thirds of all insects on our planet
• Plan and draft an informative text that presents information about insects, including a topic relevant, facts, and a conclusion
Hundreds day activities
English Spelling and Writing
In our journals we used the idiom of the week, “He’s got his head in the sand ” and related it to how the federalists ignored the importance of including the bill of rights in the Constitution. We also wrote about the story of Benjamin Franklin and the rising or setting sun at the Constitutional Convention. The class got their new sorts and took their practice spelling test on Friday. Our Word Wall words were: quit, right.
Blue Group’s current sort
Green Group’s current sort
La lectura
This week we celebrated the 100th day of school!
Our weekly objectives were to:
- create a booklet with 100 Spanish words
- break into our new reading groups
- practice reading in a group (listening to each other’s pace, giving helpful tips)
Las matemáticas
This week we celebrated the 100th day of school. Our weekly objectives were to:
- create 101 t-shirts
- play unlock the 100th day to review math topics
- continue to practice exchanging money
by Jill & Sarah | Feb 15, 2019 | In The Loop
History & Geography
This week we began our next unit on the making of the Constitution. We started off by watching some classic Schoolhouse Rock videos: “No More Kings” and “The Preamble”. The class had fun singing along and learning the words to “The Preamble”. On Friday we worked on labeling all the 13 original states and had an interesting conversation on compromise and what the delegates at the Constitutional Convention went through to make decisions about this ground breaking document.and their future as a country.
Our weekly objectives were to:
• Identify the causes of the Revolutionary War
• Understand the difficulty facing the new nation after the war.
• Understand the disorder of American society in the 1780s after the war
• Recall the details of Shays’s Rebellion
• Recognize that America needed laws that everyone would obey
• Understand that the Constitution resulted from the work of a group of men who did not always agree
• Recognize the importance of compromise in creating the Constitution
Science
Insect reports…
I was so impressed to come to school on Tuesday and find out that everyone had worked on their insect reports over the long Snow Day
… at home!
weekend. From the looks of it, the class is doing a terrific job and enjoying working on them. I reviewed the expectations for the reports in class on Tuesday. Reports and models will not be due until early March but students may continue to work on the reports at home as well as in class. I haven’t set an exact due date because I’m waiting to see when we will be wrapping up the lessons left in this unit, it’s hard to tell what the weather has in store for us. On Thursday the class enjoyed making glowing love bugs in honor of Valentine’s Day. This week we learned about fireflies and other insects that sing.
Our weekly objectives were to:
• Classify and identify insects as small 6 legged animals with three body parts
• Identify and describe the three body parts of insects: head, thorax, and abdomen
• Identify the placement and / or purpose of an insect’s body parts
• Describe an insect’s exoskeleton
• Compare and contrast Grasshoppers and crickets
• Explain how bioluminescence Works
• Plan and draft an informative text that presents information about insects, including a topic relevant, facts, and a conclusion
• Participate in a research project on insects
Love bugs that glow!
English Spelling and Writing
In our journals we used the idiom of the week, “He’s opening a can of worms” and related it to what we learned about the Constitutional Convention . The class took their practice spelling test on Thursday and final test on Friday. Our Word Wall words were: phone, played, pretty.
La lectura
This week we continued studying Black History Month.
Our weekly objectives were to:
- learn about Rosa Parks, Jesse Owen, and Fredrick Douglas
Las matemáticas
This week we continued working with money. Our weekly objectives were to:
- exchange large bills (20,10, and 5) for smaller bills
- exchange bills for coins
- review math concepts by playing Unlock the Love
by Jill & Sarah | Feb 8, 2019 | In The Loop
History & Geography
Greek Chorus takes a bow
We wrapped up our Greek unit this short week with a review on Thursday. We played Jeopardy, answering questions about Ancient Greece and read through our Greek packet. Fable groups practice reading and acting out their plays. On Friday we celebrated with our Greek day. We had fun participating in a mini Olympics, trading goods at the Agora, and performing our fables for the 3rd and 4th grade class. Next week we will begin our American Constitution unit.
Our objectives:
• review what we have covered in our Ancient Greek lessons
• finish any unfinished work in our Greek packet
Chariot races at the Olympics
Trading goods at the agora
Science
On Thursday we finished reading about social insects; ants and termites. We worked in our insect journals and wrote about how termites and ants work together in a community. We began to discuss our upcoming insect report. Students are thinking about what specific insect they would like to report on and make a model of. I will send more information on this project in an email on Monday so students can work on it at home if we miss school next week due to snow.
Our objectives were to:
• explain that insects are the largest group of animals on Earth
• explain that there are many varieties of insects
• distinguish between social and solitary insects
• describe how all members of a social insect colony come from one queen
We are going buggy for insects!
• describe the social behavior of ants and ant colonies
• describe the roles of worker ants, males, and queens
English Spelling and Writing
In our journals we used the idiom of the week, she is hitting the books. The class got their new sort list but we won’t be taking the practice test until Monday due to the short school week. Our Word Wall words was: people
La lectura
This week we began learning about Black History Month.
Our weekly objectives were to:
- read about famous Black Americans including Martin Luther King Jr,, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and Ruby Bridges
- create a Black History Month Booklet with facts about each person we read about
Las matemáticas
Our weekly objectives were to begin learning about Money:
- review how to say each coin in Spanish
- understand how to write coins using the cents symbol and the dollar symbol
- learn about bills and how to say them in Spanish
- understand how to write bills using the cents symbol and the dollar symbol
Have students practice exchanging coins and bills at home for extra practice. Remember that Prodigy is a great resource to keep those math skills sharp, in case of a few snowy days.
by Jill & Sarah | Feb 1, 2019 | In The Loop
History & Geography
In our studies of Ancient Greece this week we learned about the great thinkers of Greece, Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. We talked about Greek chorus and acted out some Aesop’s fables. The students made tragedy and comedy marks. On Friday we played jeopardy and reviewed for our assessment next week.
Our objectives:
• identify Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle as great philosophers of ancient Greece
• understand how ideas can spread through writing and teaching
• identify Alexander the Great
• indicate on a map that area Alexander the Great conquered
• listen to a variety of Aesop’s Fables
•act out fables as part of a Greek Chorus
Science
This week we took a pausing point and reviewed what we’ve learned so far about the interesting world of insects. We watched a film on Wednesday about insects and wrote more in our insect journals. On Friday we began learning about social insects, ants and termites.
Our objectives were to:
• explain that insects are the largest group of animals on Earth
• explain that there are many varieties of insects
• identify and describe three main body parts of insects: head, thorax, abdomen
• identify the placement and / or purpose of an insect’s body parts
• distinguish between social and solitary insects
• explain that most insects live solitary lives but some such as ants and termites, are social
• describe how all members of a social insect colony come from one queen
• describe the social behavior of ants and ant colonies
• describe the roles of worker ants, males, and queens
English Spelling and Writing
In our journals we used the idiom of the week, I stuck my foot in my mouth. The class worked on two sort activities this week to prepare for their final spelling test on Friday. Several students also took a Word Wall test this week. Our Word Wall words were: one, old, or, outside.
Green spelling sort
Blue spelling sort
La lectura
This week we read Todos Creyeron que lo habían visto.
Our weekly objectives were to:
- Understand the story vocabulary
- review asking questions during our first read
- during our second read use the comprehension skill making conclusions
- practice finding linking and helping verbs within sentences
Las matemáticas
This week we wrapped up our unit on Volume. Our weekly objectives were to:
- Practice reading the number of liters on a marked container
- apply knowledge to real world volume problems
- review for the test by playing snowball toss
- show what we know on the chapter test
Specialists:
Art with Ms. Kelly
The students did a wonderful job with 2 challenging art projects this month.
Art Project: Make a Winter Landscape with Animals, using collage technique
Book: “Over and Under the Snow” by Kate Messner, with art by Christopher Silas Neal
Goals:
- Observe illustrations in book, especially close-up and far away trees
- Learn about forest animals in winter
- Practice drawing a fox using geometrical shapes
- Cut out basic shapes to make a red fox, a mouse, and a deer
- Cut out shapes to make trees, and add texture with crayon
Art Project: Folk Art Flowers
Book: Art From Her Heart, Folk Artist Clementine Hunter by Kathy Whitehead
Goals:
- Learn about Clementine Hunter, an African American folk art painter
- Draw a bowl or vase with crayon, and add simple flower shapes to fill page
- Paint with tempera paint
I hope to display these beautiful flower paintings on the bulletin board in February!
Music with Ms. Erin
In January we learned about fast and slow tempos, speeding up and slowing down within a musical piece, reviewed forte and piano dynamics, and learned how to draw the treble and bass clefs. We also listened to music by composers Grieg, Beethoven, and Vivaldi.
In February we will be learning about the letter-name notes in the C major scale, and the names of the notes on the treble staff. We will learn how to draw the rests that correspond with our previously learned notes: whole note (4 beats), half note (2 beats), and quarter note (1 beat). We will be singing and playing notes while reading them on the staff.
by Jill & Sarah | Jan 25, 2019 | In The Loop
our symposium
History & Geography
dancing and music at the symposium
Social Studies:
In our studies of Ancient Greece this week we learned took a tour of Athens and learned why they called the period after the Persian Wars the “golden age”. On Thursday we held a symposium, students enjoyed feta cheese, smoked fish, raisins, and Greek pita bread while listening to parts of Homer’s epic poem the Ilia, as well as some local talented musicians and dancers. On Friday the class worked on making tableaux drawings on Greek vases.
Our objectives:
•Understand the golden age as the period when Athenian culture reached its highest point
• identify Pericles as a ruler of Athens during its golden age
• recognize some additional features of Athenian life
• recognize an Athenian symposium
• Identify some arts in which Athens excelled, including pottery, music, and poetry
Science
The class is having a so much fun getting to know Blue and Rose, our Blue Death Feigning beetles. This week we studied social insects, such as bees, ants, and wasps. In our insect journals we drew pictures of a bee and a wasp and wrote sentences of what we have learned about each of them.
Our objectives were to:
• explain that most insects live solitary lives but some such as honey bees and paper wasps, or social
• distinguish between social and solitary insects
• describe how all members of a social insect colony come from one queen
• describe the roles of honeybee workers, drones, and queens
• describe how honeybees communicate with one another through “dances”
English Spelling and Writing
On Tuesday we read about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and wrote in our journals about what his speech in Washington DC meant to us as individuals. In our journals we also used the idiom of the week, he has his head in the clouds. The class got their new spelling sorts and worked on several ways to sort them. They took a their practice test on Friday. Our Word Wall words were: off, other, our
La lectura
This week we learned about Martin Luther King Jr.
Our weekly objectives were to:
- Place important dates in Martin Luther King Jr.’s life in chronological order
- understand vocabulary from the passage
- Create a lap book about Martin Luther King Jr.
Our PUF words for next week are: negro, abre
Las matemáticas
This week we learned about Volume. Our weekly objectives were to:
- Explore and compare volume
- Use liters to estimate, measure, and compare volume
If you find any liter containers (milk boxes, Gatorade bottles, etc.) please have your kiddo bring them into class to empty use during math!
by Jill & Sarah | Jan 18, 2019 | In The Loop
History & Geography
In our studies of Ancient Greece this week we learned about the Olympics and the Persian wars. Everyone had fun making wreaths for our Greek celebration day which will follow the end of this unit.
Our objectives:
• locate Olympia, Greece on a map
• identify who were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games
• describe the Olympic Games and include events that were held during these games
• understand that the games word event for which all the Greek city-states came together in peace
• compare and contrast the ancient Olympic Games to Olympic Games held today
• understand the Persian Wars as the successful effort of the small Greek forces to repel the huge invading Persian forces
• Identify some important battles of the Wars including Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis
Science
We had some new friends join our classroom this week, crickets and Blue Death Feigning beetles. The class is having a great time observing these creature’s behaviors and activities. We continued to work in our Insect Journals writing about life cycles and personal narratives regarding interactions with insects.
Our objectives were to:
• describe insect life cycles in the process of complete & incomplete metamorphosis • describe how some insects look like miniature versions of adults when they are born from eggs
• explain why some insects molt
• describe how some insects go through four distinct stages of development, including egg, larva, Pupa, and adult
• identify insects who go through a complete metamorphosis and insects that go through an incomplete metamorphosis
English Spelling and Writing
In our journals we used the idiom of the week,” I’m on top of the world”. We also wrote an insect story in our science insect journals this. The class worked on two spelling activities and their spelling sorts. They took a their final spelling test on Friday. Our Word Wall words were: make, more, not, none.
Next two week’s green sort
Next two week’s blue sort
by Jill & Sarah | Jan 11, 2019 | In The Loop
History & Geography
This week we jumped right back into our studies of Ancient Greece. We learned about Athenian government and the daily life of its people. We compared and contrasted this to life in Sparta. On Friday we began to learn about the Olympic games.
Our objectives:
• locate Athens and Sparta on a map.
• Define democracy and identify Athens as the birthplace of democracy
• understand some aspects of Athenian democracy
• understand how Athenian boys and girls were educated
• recognize that men and women were not equal in Athenian Society
• understand the military lifestyle and education in Sparta
• identify ancient Greece as the site of the original Olympic Games
Science
This week we really began to delve into our insect domain. We read about insect habitats, learned a new insect song, and started an insect journal.
Our objectives were to:
• explain that insects are the largest group of animals on Earth
• explain that there are many different types of insects
•explain that insects live in virtually every habitat on Earth, with the exception of the oceans
• classify and identify particular insects as small, six-legged animals with three main body parts
• identify and describe the three main body parts of insects: head, thorax, and abdomen
• identify the placement and/or purpose of an insect’s body parts
• describe an insect’s exoskeleton
• explain why spiders are not insects
English Spelling and Writing
In our journals we used the idiom of the week, “she has a heart of gold”. We wrote about insect’s habitats and questions we have about insects in our science insect journals this week. The class got their new spelling sorts and took a practice test on Friday. Our Word Wall words were: name, line, made, many.
La lectura
This week we read La Cenicienta.
Our weekly objectives were to:
- practice asking questions before, during, and after reading our story
- identify causes of different effects within our story
- create a picture chart of vocabulary for our story
- begin writing about our New Years Resolutions
Our PUF words for next week are: adentro, nosotros, trabaja, tres, traigo, nuestro
Las matemáticas
This week we began working with mass. Our weekly objectives were to:
- use a measuring scale to measure mass in kilograms and grams
- compare and order masses
- practice math as well as computer skills by adding Prodigy into our math station rotations
Specialists:
Character Education
This month in character ed we are focusing on the theme of Self-Control. We are talking about how to have self-control over our bodies, our words, and our emotions – pretty important all through life! This week we read Personal Space Camp which discusses how we all have a personal space bubble and need to respect other people’s personal space. We will also be reading My Mouth is a Volcano and When Sophie Gets Really, Really Angry. Our quote is: Self Control: Stop. Think. What could happen if you act that way? Is that what you want? –Anonymous. And for our poem we are reading The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams – a sweet, short poem everyone can memorize.
Music with Ms. Erin
In December we learned to sing and play Hanukkah and Christmas holiday songs, and identified whether the songs were in major or minor keys.
In January we will be learning about fast and slow tempos, as well as speeding up and slowing down within a musical piece or phrase. We will listen to music by the composers Grieg, Beethoven, and revisit Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by listening to the Winter movements.
by Jill & Sarah | Dec 21, 2018 | In The Loop
History & Geography
This week we continued our studies of Ancient Greece. The class had fun making a Trojan horse and Athenian’ coins. We learned about the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Athens. We finished drawing our gods and goddesses in our Greek packet.
Our objectives:
• locate Troy and Athens on a map
• understand the basic story of the Trojan War, including the trick of the Trojan horse
• Understand how Athenians worshiped Athena
Science
This week we finished our science domain Cycles in Nature. On Monday we took our domain assessment. We continued to observe our water cycle experiments. Our next highly anticipated domain is on Insects. We learned a new song identifying the body parts of an insect and read our first lesson.
Our objectives were to:
• Define the term water cycle
• describe evaporation
• review what we have learned in the Cycles in Nature domain
• explain that insects are the largest group of animals on Earth
• explain that there are many different types of insects
• explain most insects live solitary lives, but some, such as honeybees, paper wasps, ants, and termites, are social
• explain that insects live in virtually every habitat on Earth, with the exception of the oceans
English Spelling and Writing
In our journals we used the idiom of the week, “stay on your toes” The class did seasonal spelling activities and took their final spelling test on Friday. Our new Word Wall words were: little, mail, nice
La lectura
This week we read Como el Grinch robo la Navidad
Our weekly objectives were to:
- practice sequencing
- practice our high frequency words by playing KABOOM
Students took home 2 readers to practice over break! When we return we will be reviewing all our high frequency words so far.
Las matemáticas
Our weekly objectives were to:
- finish our Metric Measurement unit by taking the chapter test
- introduce Prodigy (officially!) in class
Students did take home their Prodigy Usernames and Passwords this week. Prodigy is a great online math practice game that helps review old concepts, encourages students to continue learning new concepts, and builds their computer skills. I high recommend working on it over winter break to keep those math sk
ills sharp!
by Jill & Sarah | Dec 14, 2018 | In The Loop
Finding Greece on our maps.
History & Geography
This week we finished our unit on Japan by writing postcards from Japan. Everyone had fun imagining what they might see while visiting the country. On Tuesday we began our next unit on Ancient Greece. The class will be working on an interactive notebook throughout this unit.
Our objectives:
• recall key landmarks, customs, and facts about Japan
• locate Greece and other places on a map
• understand what city-states were
• understand that the ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses
• identify several major gods and goddesses
Science
- This week we are wrapping up our science domain: Cycles in Nature. The class learned a song about the watercycle, made water cycle bracelets, set up a miniature water cycle for observation, and made different types of cloud pictures. On Friday we had a domain review.
What kinds of clouds do we see?
Our objectives were to:
• Define the term water cycle
• describe evaporation and condensation
• identify forms and importance of precipitation
• describe the formation of clouds
• identify three types of clouds cirrus, cumulus, and stratus
• review what we have learned in this domain
English Spelling/Writing
In our journals we used the idiom of the week, “hold your horses.” The class got their new spelling lists this week and worked on sorting them in several ways. We had our practice spelling test on Thursday. Our new Word Wall words were: knew, know, kicked
La lectura
This week we read La historia de las tres ballenas.
Our weekly objectives were to:
- Focus on the consonant blends fl and fr
- Read our story the 1st time focusing on the comprehension strategy summarizing
- Read our story a 2nd time focusing on the comprehension skill main idea and details by creating main idea Christmas trees
Next week we will be review all the PUF words we’ve learned so far!
Las matemáticas
This week we continued working with Measurement. Our weekly objectives were to:
- Compare items that are measured in meters to each other by using the vocabulary taller (alto), shorter (bajo), longer (largo), and shorter (corto)
- Measure items in centimeters
- Decide when to measure items in meters or centimeters
This week we celebrated the 100th day of school!
This week we celebrated the 100th day of school. Our weekly objectives were to:
