I have been working on the Wax Museum movie for about an hour...and somehow have lost the pictures from the actual parent presentation...I'm so sad...I had taken a shot of each kid, the group photo, the funny faces photo, I had taken a shot of the screen while the poems were rolling, and of the program...they're all just gone...into my computer somewhere, but not somewhere I can find them. I don't want to finish the movie without some of those...so, can you guys send me what you have? The good news is, I took a picture of almost every kid at the dress rehearsal, but Jack was sick, so I don't have a picture of him. I would appreciate if you could send me any and all pix from that day and I will add them to the movie. Just email them to me. Thanks so much.
We have been super busy lately in school, too! Read on to find out what we've been up to...
Language Arts
We have read six chapters of our novel and met in Literature Circles six times...the kids changed jobs recently...we still have a Discussion Director, but we now also have a Vocabulary Enricher and a Summarizer. The kids have been working on improving their comprehension through these discussions. We took a break from Literature Circles Thursday and Friday and worked strictly on comprehension. I love to sit and listen to the kids talk about what they're reading...and this is such a fabulous book! We will continue with The 21 Balloons this coming week.
Math
In my math class we have been working on the most efficient way to divide larger numbers...long division. We started with mastering the concept using hundreds, tens, and ones blocks while solving word problems. Once I was certain everyone understood that concept, we moved into the algorithm. This is very hard for some, and comes quite easily to others. I equated it to riding a bike. We have a student in our classroom who shared that she is still learning to ride a bike and we have a student who learned when she was FIVE. We talked about how we all learn things at different paces and at different times...they seemed to be able to relate to that analogy! We will continue with division as we review and dig deeper into many of the concepts the kids have seen already this year...Quarter four is to make sure all indicators are to mastery and gives us the opportunity to stretch and enrich!
Science
Well...we set up fantastic compost bins ready for our worms...and then our worm delivery got delayed...ugh!! We read about worms, took notes about worms, watched video clips about worms, and talked about worms...we are ready for them! We will make some predictions and do some experiments with the worms when they first arrive...then they will be placed in the compost bins and we will watch them do their jobs. We have also done quite a bit of research on composting, so we are all set to see this natural recycling occur. Once we have the worms, I'll be asking for more food scraps...preferably fruits and vegetables. This unit then focuses on rocks and fossils. That is where we are headed soon....
FIELD TRIP TOMORROW!! We are headed to our annual E.S.S.L. field trip tomorrow. The Earth Space Science Lab is such a fantastic place to visit, so we are all looking forward to a morning full of science!!
NEEDS!! We need tissues and Clorox wipes...if you could help with this, it is very appreciated!
Last, but not least...this week, Dr. Ayala, a chemist whose son is in fourth grade at UES came to hang with our class and Ms. Maenner's class...he brought with him many different experiments that helped us to see Why Science MATTERS!! (pun intended) Take a look at what a great time was had by all!!
