No Name Calling Week

Today we have two new guest bloggers to tell you about our week.  

In  math we are learning about exponential notation, expanded notation, and scientific notation.  We have come up with a new invention, a flip book. It is like an SRB. It gives you the information you need and examples with it.  

In reading we are doing think notes.  We put a sticky note on the page and code it with a Q for question, P for prediction, C for connection and V for visualize.  We are reading Number the Stars.  This takes place during WW II.  It is about a girl named Annemarie and her friend Ellen, who is Jewish.  Nazis are trying to track her down.  Annemarie’s family is helping to hide Ellen and her family.  

In writing, some of us are getting ready to publish our personal narratives.  Everyone will be completing this next week.  We will be moving on to narrative essays in the next few weeks.

In science we are learning about soil.  In social studies we are learning about different colonies.  We found out that in Jamestown Colony there was a man named John Smith.  He persuaded the people to work.  There is famous saying that he said to them:  “Those who shall not work, shall not eat.”   Next week we will start colony projects.

This week is No Name Calling Week.  We are making a class poster with a slogan.  We picked “Don’t be a porcupine, be a teddy bear.”  The porcupine has lots of unkind words and makes people feel hurt.  The teddy bear has lots of kind words, and makes you feel happy and liked.  We all wrote a leadership paper.  Some of us will present these to the whole school next Tuesday.  We also read a book called, Trouble Talk which was about bullying and name calling.  We had a discussion about name calling.

           Also, we are doing Jump Rope for Heart in health class.  We are raising money for children with heart disease.

Rocks and Minerals

We recently got together with Mrs. Consilvio's class to examine the properties of rocks and minerals.  First, we learned about the characteristics of rocks and minerals.

Then we performed experiments to determine the color, hardness, streak, and cleavage of six different rocks.

Lastly, we used our findings to identify which rocks we looked at.


We are finishing our study of rocks and minerals and moving on to soil.  We will end the unit looking at catastrophic events.

Friday Funnies

Here's what Friday Funnies looks like on a typical Friday:

Guest bloggers

This week we are having guest bloggers.  Two students from our class will fill you in on what’s been happening.

We have been working on new stories in writing.  We have been writing personal narratives, playing with heartstrings.  In science we are learning about earth materials and the properties of rocks and minerals.  In social studies we are reading about the Lost Colony of Roanoke.  We have been working on asking questions, visualizing and making connections in Number the Stars.  In math we are working on adding and subtracting fractions.  There is a test on this tomorrow.

On Fridays, at the end of the day, we having students come up and do a comedy act.  Almost everyone volunteers.  You can do jokes or skits with friends.   Look for pictures of this coming soon.

**This post was scheduled to be published last Friday, but technical difficulties prevented this. 

Happy New Year

The first day of school this new year went extremely well. It was fun catching up with everyone about what they did during vacation.  We talked about fresh starts, and setting goals for the new year.

In math we are starting a unit on determining statistical landmarks.   Here is a great website that can help you and your child review the important terms for this unit.  In reading we are beginning Number the Stars which is set in WW II Denmark.  We will be practicing the skills of asking questions and making inferences while reading this wonderful story.  We are beginning a study of earth materials in science, and in social studies we are finishing up explorers and moving to Colonial America.  We are also taking a closer look at how to answer open response questions both in math and in reading. 

The GeoBee will be held this Thursday.  Good luck to all participants! 

As you can see, we have hit the ground running and have lots to learn in the coming months.