Last week we also started building with our construction kits for PLTW. The kids did a great job following their team rules and working together! The only guidelines they had for the assignment was to build something with a wheel and axle that could carry a load. Check out some pictures of what they built under the student work tab! They turned out really cool! Engineering minds at work!
This week in reading we will be learning about how different animals survive in extreme environments and survive extreme changes in their environment. We will be focusing on the skills of monitoring comprehension, analyzing idioms, comparing and contrasting, and noun suffixes. The kids are starting their new inquiry projects. They each had to choose two extreme environments and then an animal in each. They will be researching the adaptations that animal has to survive in its extreme environment.
In math this week we will be learning about weight and capacity. For capacity, or volume, we will be focusing on liters and milliliters. For weight we will be focusing on grams and kilograms. We also touch on gallons, quarts, pints, and cups.
In writing we will be sharing our leprechaun stories on St. Patrick's Day and then we will be spending the rest of the week working on a compare and contrast paragraph. The kids will be using the two animals that they are researching for inquiry and learning to compare and contrast them.
In social studies we will be learning more about the economy with supply and demand. In science we will be working with our construction kits to build a lever this week.
Just a few upcoming things to note...
- If you did not want the lifetouch photos then they need to be returned to school by Tuesday, March 17th. It you did want them then they need to be paid for by the 17th.
- We recently took the 3rd quarter SRI test and from that the kids set reading goals for themselves. We talked a lot about how important reading is, especially reading that is at our level and challenging us to get better. I know that I only require the kids to be reading 15 min. 3 nights a week, but they really should be reading everyday!! I can't stress that importance enough. They also need to be finishing their books, and should be reading chapter books, not picture books. I printed off a book list for them of books at their level and we are going to check out a couple next week during library. One will stay here to read during independent reading time at school and the other will go home to read at home.
- We have our dates for spring testing. Please write them down on your calendars and do your best to make sure your kiddo is at school on those days so that we do not have to do make-up testing. Smarter Balanced: April 27th-May 1st. NWEA: May 5-May 7. As the dates get closer I will post more information about each test.
Homework: Reading log, fraction practice
Code Word: Happy St. Patrick's Day!