Wow what a busy start we have had to 2013! In the weeks since returning to school from Winter Break student have completed a math unit on Measurement and Geometry and begun a new unit on Division. During the current unit students are exploring different strategies they can use to help them divide numbers. Some of the strategies we have discussed so far are using area models and arrays similar to the ones that we used during our multiplication unit, using related multiplication facts, as well as using a multiplication table.
During writer's workshop students have finished writing their first multi-paragraph essay on two people they admire and while I have not read through all of them yet, I have been impressed by the quality of work so far! Just this past week we started working on a new genre in writing-Narratives. Students are very excited to get to show more creativity in their writing and have started planning a story from the point of view of a California Indian child. I can't wait to read these as well.
In reading we have continued to work on the questioning strategy. We have read several books as a class and discussed the difference between "thick" and "thin" questions that good reader's ask before, during, and after reading. Thin questions are questions that can be answered directly from the text. For example-"Who is the main character?" or "Where does the story take place?" While thick questions require more thought and may not have just one answer to. Some examples of these types of questions are "I wonder why....", "What would happen if....". Both types of questions are important for students to be able to ask and answer while reading. We have also recently read the current issue of our National Geographic Explorer magazine. Students really enjoyed reading about the exotic birds living in New Guinea in one of the articles which was a great tie in to our current unit in science.
Speaking of science....we are nearing the end of our second unit, Structures of Life. In the past several weeks we have observed live crayfish in the classroom and identified their different structures, behaviors, and adaptations. We have also continued to observe the bean plants that we planted hydroponically back in December. Unfortunately our plants have not been getting enough sunlight and aren't growing very well but students have enjoyed seeing the life cycle of these plants from seeds that they sprouted in the class sprouter, to seedlings they planted in the hydroponic growers, to plants that at one point reached 30 cm tall. In the next two weeks we will be wrapping up this unit, reviewing, and taking the unit test. Right now if all goes as planned, I'm looking at giving them the test on Feb. 13th. They will be able to use their science notebooks to help them answer the questions on the text just like in the previous unit. They will be turning in their notebooks at that time as well so I can evaluate how well they have been doing making observations and organizing their findings.
In social studies we have continued our unit on California Indians and will be wrapping up this unit as well this week. I plan on giving the class the unit test this coming Friday, Feb 8th. They are more then welcome to take home their social studies books this week and review the unit with you at home. As with all the social studies assessments that I give, they will be able to look back in their books to help them answer the questions. I don't expect them to memorize all that information, just to understand it. We are also starting a new unit on famous people when we get back from the February Break that I introduced them to today.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Jessica Barkve
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