Ringing in 2017

We've been ringing in the new year with lots of fun learning activities! In math, we're continuing to review our times tables in fun ways such as playing "Multiplication Musical Chairs"...

 

We've also begun learning division. We created "Division Pizza" booklets to learn what  part of a division equation is the divisor, dividend, and quotient and created illustrations in it to show that division is breaking apart objects into groups. We were also introduced to "Division Man" who showed us the steps of dividing: divide, multiply, subtract, and bring down. We'll be focusing on him more when we begin dividing with remainders.

In science, we ended our physical science unit learning about sound energy. We created vibrations using cups, plastic wrap, sugar crystals, and our voices. When we hummed against the cups the sugar crystals atop them vibrated as seen below...

Another way we created vibrations was by using tuning forks and a bucket of water. After striking the tuning fork to make it vibrate, we quickly placed it in the bucket of water to create sound waves, which we could see when the water rippled...

Now that we've completed our physical science unit we are beginning our earth science one. This week we'll be learning about  types of volcanoes,  the parts of a volcano, and earthquakes. Then, we'll be studying weathering, erosion, and deposition; types of rocks; and types of soil. One of the highlights of the unit is creating a "rock museum" in our science spot. Children are invited to bring any rocks, minerals, gems, and books on these topics from home to add to the museum.

In reading, we are beginning a new novel study, Charlotte's Web. We'll be using lapbooks containing graphic organizers, comprehension questions,and poems to explore story elements and themes. We'll be reading chapters both in class and at home so please check homework agendas or the online homework calendar to see what night reading is assigned.

In Writing Workshop, we've begun learning about biographies. After creating a "biography" bubble to learn about features of a biography the first biography we read was The Boy Who Lived on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss. This week, we're writing our Dr. Seuss biography final drafts on hat patterns which will be attached to Cat in the Hat paper plates we make. Other people we'll be writing biographies about include Rosa Parks, Jacques Cousteau, and Amelia Earhart. Each biography will be incorporated with a craftivity relating to the person. Don't forgetstudent biography reports are due this Wednesday.

Wishing everyone a bright 20171