Reader's Workshop
Reader's workshop this week was very challenging and really pushed us to stretch our thinking about reading. We started off the week looking at Webb's Depth of Knowledge questions and used that to guide our research. After that, we practiced synthesizing across different texts and identifying subtopics that are common in different texts about the same topic. As we wrote about our reading, we learned that readers have to shift from those larger subtopics to the smaller details that support them. Using all of this information, we can compare and contrast our research and look at what specific craft moves the authors make. Finally, we ended the week by thinking about what the author is trying to tell us, identifying their perspective and how that changes our thinking. Writer's Workshop We finished up our research reports by starting the week learning about introductions and conclusions. We learned a few different ways that we can start or end our reports and what we want to leave our reader with. Then, we learned that sometimes research reports have patterns to help create cohesion within the report. We want our writing to sound connected about one topic so we can do that by writing various text features in similar ways. After this, we revised and edited our reports and turned them in. Math This week was all about solving problems in different ways. We learned how to solve multiplication problems using both a diagram and a model. Then, we learned two ways to solve multiplication problems involving two decimals. We have one more lesson to go before our test on Wednesday. Science We got to continue our science unit this week by modeling the water cycle. We used both hot and cold water to help us figure out what conditions cause the most rain and why we have clouds in the sky. We also learned a little about hurricanes and tried to save a town by building various structures to avoid water damage. The big concept we learned about was constraints and how this keeps people in the real world from solving problems. This unit was very short and we have already finished the content. The science test will be on Tuesday. Social Studies Social studies this week was all about conflicts (again). We learned about different ways Native American people were forced off of their lands and about different conflicts that occurred between Native American groups. We have one more lesson about the key people during this time period and we will review all of these conflicts together by having a few debates. Our social studies test will be on Thursday. Extras We continued P.E. with Coach Mitchell and had music with Ms. Mesch. This week, we also had art with Mrs. Fish and we got to finish our street art paintings from the class before. The Holiday Fair was also this week. Thank you so much to all the families that donated or helped out with that. The kids loved it and appreciated all the hard work.
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I hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving break! Between now and winter break, we have a lot of material to get through so I warned the students to be prepared. Reader's Workshop We jumped right back into our nonfiction unit and they are starting to focus on one topic to read about. They will use the information they gather about their topic to teach the rest of the class about it. Everyone has some sort of science topic that they will be sharing with us. This week, we focused on choosing a topic and thinking of some sort of question that will guide our research. Our questions help us think deeper about our topic and cannot be answered in one sentence. We want to synthesize the information we gather to answer our questions. Writer's Workshop It was a little harder for them to get back into their research reports but eventually, they remembered where they left off. This week, we talked about adding more information to sentences we already have by using commas, dashes, and parentheses. We also looked at different types of structures that our writing could resemble. Finally, we discussed different text features that are usually present in nonfiction writing and how we can add some of those features to our own writing. We will finish our research reports by the end of next week! This is exciting and I'm sure the class will be happy with their final product. Math The next math chapter is about multiplying decimals. Based on the pre-assessments, we thought that everyone could use some review on how to do this so the math classes are not split up this time. This week, we talked about how to multiply decimals with single-digit whole numbers and double-digit whole numbers. We also looked at place-value patterns and how those help us when working with decimals. We learned four different strategies for multiplying: place-value patterns, partial products, the area model, and using the distributive property to split up some numbers. Next week, we will learn how to solve word problems and work on multiplying two decimals together. Science We started the next unit of science on Monday! Continuing with Earth science, we are diving in to learn about water on our planet. In our first lesson, we investigated how much salt water vs. fresh water there is on Earth. Then, on Friday, we learned what an aquifer is and how they are another source of freshwater underground. We spent some time trying to figure out the best spot to dig a well based on certain clues about the environment and landscape. Next week, we will have 2 more lessons about water on Earth and will take the test the following week. Social Studies We are busting through so much content, we even finished three social studies lessons this week. Before the break, we learned about different explorers and how America was discovered by Europeans. In this next unit, we are learning about interactions between the Native Americans that were already here and the Europeans. Some were positive engagements and some were not so great. Next week, we will learn a little more about the negative side of colonization. Extras Even though it has been a rainy week, we were still able to have P.E. outdoors with Coach Mitchell and we had music with Ms. Mesch. There was no art class with Mrs. Fish but we did do some art in our class. Since it's December, we made some snowflakes to get into the winter mood. They were a little confused on how to construct it, but they all made beautiful snowflakes in the end. We also started something new for this trimester: a homework/ classwork chart. If the students turn everything in on time, they will get a stamp at the end of the week and if they get stamps for all 12 weeks, we will have a special party with a treat of their choosing. They seemed pretty excited about this so we will see if this helps them complete their work. I am hoping this will motivate them to be more responsible and prepare them to be organized and self-sufficient next year at middle school. In addition to this, we are also doing more explicit grammar teaching. From their narrative writing and the first draft of their research reports, it is clear that many of them need some instruction in this.
I am very proud of all the work they did this week, especially after the break. We have been able to complete everything on time and they are putting a lot of effort in. Thank you! |
AuthorUpdates on the class will occur regularly and you can check back here to see what's happening at school. Archives
March 2020
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