Wednesday, October 16th, 2019 – A LOOK AT TODAY AND TOMORROW…
We’re really getting going now! There is just so much to share, but I can’t (nor do you probably want me to) share it all in one post. So…below is an overview of what we’re up to with many of our endeavors in class. I’ve also added some attachments that give clear examples of the types of experiences your kids are having (or will be soon).
In writing we have just finished publishing our Small Moment narratives, after conducting self-editing, peer-editing (student-to-student feedback), and teacher conferring. The purpose of the Small Moment is to learn specific techniques and writing strategies that effectively pause the plot and stretch the moment, as well as to learn how to embed a life lesson into the heart of a story. Some of these techniques include the use of: FLASHBACKING, INTERNAL THINKING, FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, SENSORY-DESCRIPTION, and PRECISE VOCABULARY.
I have also been teaching lessons on conventions related to paragraphing, verb tense and agreement, sentence structure, endmarks and comma usage, which the kids can execute in their drafting and free-writing at home. Below are several documents we use in Writers’ Workshop all year: the Strategies of Awesome Writing Poster, the Conventions Convention Poster, and the Peer-Editing Feedback Form. I’ve also attached a mentor text of a small moment, written by Yours Truly, which the students used in this unit for analysis and exposure to strategies…
In math we’ve been swimming at the deep end of the pool of double- (or more) digit multiplication and multi-digit long division. A reminder: STUDENTS WILL ULTIMATELY BE USING TRADITIONAL ALGORITHMS FOR LONG MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION, as these are most efficient when “executing” in math. The other models that we investigate really do help students to see how it all works, and they can ultimately transfer that understanding to their efficient execution. But remember, you can help your child understand math however you see fit – THERE IS NO WRONG WAY!
In science and social studies, we have an overlying theme for the year: FORCE CAUSES MOTION, AND MOTION CAUSES CHANGE (ask your kids to show you the chant/dance; there will more about this in future posts). The forces we study range from the obvious, such as gravity, to the not-so-obvious, such as religious, political, or economic motivations. Motion refers to the movement of actual things and goods, but also to people, knowledge and ideas as well. We then closely examine the resultant changes that occur and how the cycle starts all over again…
In science we are really getting into our unit on Earth and Space Systems. Students are aware of how everything that takes up space – all matter — occurs within either the GEO- (rock), BIO (living), HYDRO- (water) and ATMO- (air) spheres – the four spheres of earth’s interactive systems. We are currently studying how HUMAN IMPACT affects each sphere, and vice versa. We will then be connecting earth’s systems to space systems, particularly in how the earth’s tilt and movements cause day and night, the year, and the seasons. We will also be very closely observing the sun-moon-earth relationship.
In social studies, we have embarked on our study of “The Story of America.” The “story” starts back in Europe and Asia in the Middle Ages. Students are becoming quite knowledgeable about life during the Middle Ages, and how the religious forces behind the Crusades caused a movement of people, goods and ideas. This motion created great change, leading to The Renaissance and the Age of Exploration, which ultimately lead to America’s discovery, settlement and colonization (a HUGE CHANGE). We have just kicked off our online book project, The Roads That Led to America, which involves using nonfiction sources to gather research and take notes, and then to weave those notes in creating historical fiction and expository writing pieces. Look for those to be finished in the coming weeks!
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed your snapshot into our classroom world, and there will be other snapshots to come. My next post will be devoted primarily to our reading lives. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow – Cathy
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