Week of January 21st

I hope everyone got to enjoy the long weekend last week.  We had a nice short week.  We are continuing to learn about symmetry and area in math which is part of our geometry unit.  We will be finishing this unit up next week. 

In science last week we began our force and balance unit about bridges.  In addition to our learning about forces, balance and gravity, we are learning about different types of bridges.  We learned that a beam bridge is made of a flat piece or beam, laid across two or more supports or piers.  We learned that an arch bridge is made from one or more arches and abutments.  We also learned that a suspension bridge has cables hanging between two towers that support the bridge.  This week we have talked more about pushes and pulls, and learned about one-story structures and towers.  We tested the various structures to see how strong they were and then came up with ways to make them stronger. 

In writing, we continue to work on our Opinion pieces.  This week we read the story, "Otto for President".  The students were then asked if they would want to be President.  They then wrote a piece stating their opinion and why they felt that way.  Next week we will be focusing more on improving our pieces and how we can make sure that they have strong introductions, good supporting details and a conclusion with a restated focus and connection. 

Next week I hope to wrap up the reading assessments and start back up with our reading  groups.  These will most likely be a little different from what they were at the beginning of the year.  Your children are really taking off in their reading.  We will be focusing the latter part of the year on comprehension and becoming more fluent readers. 

In Fundations we will continue to learn about "r controlled" syllables and looking at this syllable type in multisyllabic words. 

Don't forget if your child would like to do a special project for the Discovery Table there are still lots of open weeks left in the year.  February is totally open.  We have learned a lot of great information from those students who have chosen to do it this year.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy