Classroom Updates

Please remember that Thursday is Curriculum Night from 7:00 - 7:45. We will spend this time talking about the reading process, as well as going over things we are working in class.

Here are a few of the things we are working on in class:

1. Since our special areas is first thing in the morning (8:30), we alternate between watching the CNN 10 news for kids and math talks. CNN 10 news helps us become aware of national news. We use this information to make connections between the real world and what we learn in social studies and science. Our math talks are about giving students open-ended freedom to create math equations that equal a particular number. For instance, one of last week's numbers was 15, so kids created math equations such as .15 X 10 (to the second power - blogger won't let me make an exponent). We'll discuss this more at Curricular Conversations.
2. In science we are learning about ecosystems. Many of you saw the terrariums we made. These terrariums serve as a talking point for our science studies before we more into our ecosystem expert project.
3. In social studies we studied the Reconstruction Period, Westward development of the Plains, and how technology helped develop the West (e.g., trains, steel plow, McCormick reaper, barbed wire). We are moving into our study of the Progressive Era. During this period we will be watching the History Channel's "Men Who Built America." This video is great because it covers the lives of Vanderbilt, Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, Rockefeller, Edison, and Ford. It also covers unions, strikes, and the importance of immigrants in shaping our country (and workforce).
4. In reading we are studying the Hero's Journey. All stories in which there is a hero follows the same format and plot line. While in writing, we are looking at settings, so that students can write their Hero's Journey story.