Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday!

Hello to my favorite peoples' families! We had a good week last week...and we almost got to go to school the whole week!! Let's keep our fingers crossed for this week! Here's a look into our week...and I took some great pictures...however my phone cord is at school, so I will have to wait until tomorrow to post them.

Language Arts
We have researched, taken notes using graphic organizers to prepare for the essays, and now we have almost a whole class full of finished drafts!! I have conferenced with all of the kids whose drafts are complete and many kids have started publishing their essays on the computer...the kids have been so diligent in their work. We will finish publishing this week and the kids will be bringing their essays home. It is their job to practice reading their essay out loud. They should be practicing a lot...they DO NOT have to memorize...but they should be so comfortable reading their biography that they can look at their audience a lot. Not all students will be performing live...but all kids have to read their essay to me for a communication grade. I will be scoring these criteria: volume, pacing, clarity, and eye contact. Your job (if I may) is to listen to your child over and over and over...until you know it so well you don't really want to hear it anymore!! ;-) The kids have also wrote poems about their inventors...and I can't wait to share them with you!!

Science
Well, I'm sure you know by now that we have started a new science unit...and we had sooo much fun with worms this week. We had a lesson about composting...and we built compost bins with the help of Brian Zhu's mom...thank you, Ms. Yan! Using food scraps, newspapers, dirt, and worms, we have working compost bins in our classroom! Our second lesson was observing worms...we measured, touched, smelled, and recorded data about the worms...and although not very scientific, the kids named them! (that cracked me up because once they were back in the bins, they can't identify the same word again!!) And then on Friday we used our worms to conduct some experiments...we tested whether worms prefer cold vs. warm temperatures, we tested whether worms prefer dry vs. wet conditions, and then we tested whether worms prefer light vs. darkness...they did three trials per experiment and recorded all their data. We were able to draw some conclusions based on the observations we made, but we also knew that one of our tests was not viable and that it would need to be tested differently due to the inconsistent data...it was a great week of science!

Math
In math we have jumped into division. We started off with estimating and solving word problems using division and/or multiplication. I am always so impressed at how well the kids work to solve problems...whether they know the algorithm or find other ways to find the solutions. We have shared all of our problem solving strategies and have discussed the need to know the algorithm as the numbers get bigger...so that is the direction we are headed. As with every other concept...we are all in different places when it comes to learning the algorithm, so we have been working in groups...we are using base ten blocks to "see" the concept and manipulate the division ourselves, and now we will be connecting the visual to the algorithm. However, some of my friends already know the algorithm, so those kids will be working on different skills and extensions.

MISCELLANEOUS
I have all of the green letter forms signed so I know you have the dates of the Wax Museum...please try to come see it if you are able...it will be fantastic and I can't wait to celebrate all of their hard work.

Speaking of celebrations...Mrs. Lizik is busy planning our Valentine's Day Party. If your child is exchanging Valentines, please make sure they have one for each student in the class. Thanks to all of the parents who have sent back their Valentine's Day slips!! If you haven't yet, its not too late!

Hope your weekend has been great...and enjoy the Super Bowl...I know many of the kids have very strong feelings about who wins...I just enjoy the commercials during the Super Bowl...;-) I look forward to seeing your lovelies tomorrow!