Back After Break

Hello and fabulous Friday,

This week was a busy and fun-filled week. Here is what we were up to:

In math we started a new unit on geometry. We learned about points, lines, line segments, rays and parallel lines. We thought about what shapes are polygons and what shapes are not. We also learned that polygons are closed shapes with straight sides. Here is a picture of what we came up with.

In writing most of us finished our essays on Google docs. Some of us still need more time to edit.

In reading we listened to more Fig Pudding.  There was a really sad part where one of the main character's brothers dies. We also started new WIN groups and some of us are in them and some of us are doing independent reading work.
  
In social studies we are still learning about the Civil Rights Movement. We read a book called Rosa's Bus about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We also read part of the book Remember by Toni Morrison and thought about the Supreme Court case "Brown vs. the Board of Education." We learned that the court ruled that "separate is never equal" and African Americans deserved the right to learn in the best schools too. We started a time line and added the first events to it.






In other news, we replaced the star chart with a jar that we fill with post-its that we earn for our attention-getting strategy and transitions. The jar has different lines marked and we already earned our first goal. We get to sit wherever we want on Monday. Woohoo! The next goal is another pajama/movie day and the final (and biggest goal) is to have a celebration (you might even be invited!). Today we had our 70 star reward and wore pajamas and watched a movie. Here is a picture of us enjoying the movie.
Next week we have our first field trip. Don't forget to send in the signed permission slip!

Have a nice and fun-filled weekend!

Samantha, Ms. Swaim, and Ms. Lee 

Snow-day Week

Dear Families,

Our afternoon was action packed so blogging got away from us. The teachers are writing to update you on all that we accomplished.

In Reading, we finally finished up Biography Project Presentations and got invested in our grade-wide read aloud of Fig Pudding. Students are loving how author, Ralph Fletcher brings a scene to life through sensory detail. Today, he had all of our mouths watering describing blueberry pie.

In Writing, we are publishing our Opinion Essays. We also wrote an essay in one sitting to show all that we've learned about essay-writing. Our next unit of study is coming right up and will have us writing informational books about the Civil Rights Movement.

In Math, we finished our unit on division and angles and took a tricky end-of-unit test. We practiced for the test with a game of Math Jeopardy. Today, we had a guest teacher come in for Problem-solving Friday. Mr. Smalley showed us a picture of a giant sculpture made out of cans. We asked a lot of interesting questions and eventually tackled the problem, how many cans are there in total? We were very excited by the strategies used and the math discussion in which students shared their thinking.

In Social Studies, we began to think about the history that came before the Civil Rights Movement, discussing slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow Laws. We also stepped back to think about the idea of oppression and how it can rise out of stereotypes. We read a book called William's Doll and had an interesting discussion around the stereotypes we know exist in the world. Here is a picture of the Cycle of Oppression that we learned about. 

Finally, the Fourthlandian Store opened and students were excited to buy fidgets, arts and crafts, and other unique items with their hard-earned Fourthlandian dollars. We also have some budding entrepreneurs thinking of creative ways to earn money. Here are some of the businesses opening soon.

Enjoy your vacation and stay warm out there!

Best,
Ms. Swaim, Ms. Lee, Ms. Wilder, and Ms. Avellino