April

We have had a busy two weeks and are looking forward to our week off. 

In Writing we are working hard writing poems.  They have written some good ones so far.  We will publish a poem when we come back from vacation.

In reading we have been reading just right books and focusing on comprehension.  When we come back from break we will begin book clubs based on Book Series.  Our main focus with these books will continue to be comprehending what we read.

Last week we had Hands on Nature.  We learned about clouds.  We talked about the different kinds:  Cumulus, Stratus and Cirrus.  Students drew clouds and then shared them with the rest of the class.  We had a puppet show to learn about the different types.  Students played a game where they drew a certain cloud on the white board and their groups had to guess the kind.

For the last two weeks we have had an Artist from the Flynn, Joan Robinson, come in and work with the students.  We are focusing on our Long Ago and Today unit and incorporating pantomime.  We practiced pantomime while learning about homes from long ago and compared them today.  The 2nd week, we focused on schools of long ago and compared them to our schools today.  We will meet with her two more times and will talk some more about schools and then talk about jobs they had long ago.

In math we have been working on measurement using the metric system.  We talked about centimeters and meters.  We are also doing problem solving with fractions and talking about fair shares.  We have worked with halves, thirds and quarters. 

Last Friday we managed to dodge the snow and rain and had a great day at Shelburne Farms! We visited the lambs and chickens, collected sap, made felt balls, carded wool and made bracelets and played games. It was a really fun day! Thanks so much to the parents who joined us for our field trip.

Today we went to the Flynn and saw a wonderful show, "Peking Acrobats".  The students were so engaged and enjoyed all of the wonderful acrobatics that took place during it.  It was enjoyed by all.  Ask them all about it tonight. 

Check out our photos from the last couple of weeks:)

Have a wonderful break,
Nancy

A free digital slideshow by Smilebox

Week of March 28th

I can't believe that the month of March is over.  It flew by!!

This week in Reading and Writing we wrapped up our Informational Text Units.  Students shared their Informational text books with their table-mates.  Each of their table-mates made a comment on their writing which was added to their books.  Everyone did a nice job sharing!  Check out the photos in the Smilebox.  Next week we will begin a unit on Poetry. 
 
In math we are wrapping up our unit on geometry.  This week we made quilt squares and small quilts and looked at how many lines of symmetry they have.  Next week we will be looking at the fractions, halves and wholes.

We have finished our Science Unit on Patterns in the Sky and on Earth.  To wrap it up, we created phases of the moon with oreo cookies.  Check them out in our Smilebox.  We are now moving to a Social Studies Unit, Changes over Time.  We will be comparing how things have changed from long ago to today.  We will also have a Resident Artist visiting us Flynn Theater.  She will work with the class for 4 sessions on the next 4 Wednesday's that we have school.  She will work with students to do some pantomime and freezing activities related to Long Ago and Today.

Next Friday we will be going to Shelburne Farms for a Field Trip.  Please pack your child a lunch on that day as we will be eating at the farm.  Thanks to those of you who volunteered to chaperone our field trip on next Friday, April 8th. We'll leave school on the bus at 9:15 and return by 1:45. If you'd prefer to meet us at the farm, we'll start at the education center at the Farm Barn at 9:30.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy

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