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Michigan Capitol and Historical Museum 2013

Uploaded by Christian Howd on 2013-12-07.

¡Hola Mexico!

This isn’t your normal party. There won’t be any cupcakes. No balloons or pointed little hats. Room 130 is going south of the border to learn more about our neighbor —Mexico.

Over 12% of our country is Hispanic, and one in ten residents of our country speak Spanish. More than half of the foreign-born population in the US is from Latin America, with more immigrants coming from Mexico than any other country.

Yet, many of us have little exposure to the rich culture of a significant and growing population in our own country and an important neighbor to the south.

In December and January, Room 130 will experience Mexico and its traditions through a look at the holidays Mexicans celebrate during this time of the year. This study will be in conjunction with our reading of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Esperanza Rising is about a young girl from Mexico who must move to California to start a new life after family tragedies in Mexico.

Nuestro Fiesta de Navidad

Our class will learn about Mexico through study of the following traditions celebrated during this time of the year:

• Arbol de Navidad—typically a decorated artificial tree or shrub. Ours is will be displayed with Flores de Noche Buena (poinsettias).
• El Nacimiento—the primary holiday display in most Mexican homes, a nativity scene, complete with moss, lights, animals, cactus, mountains, and many people.
• Las Posadas—celebrated from December 16th to December 24th (Noche Buena). This is a reenactment of the story of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter in Bethlehem. Entire towns in Mexico form processions to “seek shelter” in the inn (posada) and have a huge fiesta when they finally find room in the stable. Children are usually treated to a piñata.
• Noche Buena—December 24th, the last night of Las Posadas processions. This evening usually involves a meal with traditional tamales (corn husks lined with corn dough and filling and steamed), and champurrado (a corn-thickened hot chocolate). Buñuelos de Navidad (fried flour tortillas with sugar and cinnamon) are also enjoyed.
• Dia de los Reyes—Three Kings Day, January 6th. This is the traditional day in Mexico that children receive gifts. Their shoes are left out and they awake to find little gifts in their shoes left by the visiting Wise Men.

In addition to studying about these Mexican traditions, our fiesta will include making traditional Mexican tacos (not like Taco Bell!), buñuelos, and Mexican hot chocolate (move over Swiss Miss!), having a piñata, singing a few traditional canciónes (songs), and playing games. Later in the day, we’ll play the Jewish dreidel game and compare that game and tradition to a similar game Mexican children play.

The ultimate goal will be to experience the culture of such a large and growing portion of our own country and one of our nearest neighbors. This will allow us to celebrate the differences among cultures, appreciate the wealth of diversity our country enjoys, and recognize the value of our own traditions and cultures. The hope is that the world will become a little smaller place to Room 130. And so, to that end,

 ¡Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!

Does your family have a holiday tradition that you would like to share with our class? Feel free to email or send in a note and we’ll compare and contrast with Mexican traditions.

Spelling: None today. We’ll be having a spelling test soon.

Cursive: Cursive workbook pp. 49-51 are due on Monday.

Reading: Today was a reading skills practice day.

Writing: We talked about how important it is plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish a story, and to do all of those steps. Writing is like baking. A baker must gather the right ingredients, mix the recipe, look back at the recipe to make sure it is being followed, and bake the food to make it ready to eat. Writing is a lot like that.

Today was also a revising day for students.

Our current piece of writing is a fiction story, due Monday, December 16. Your student should be revising by now.

Math: None today.

Science: None today.

Social Studies: We learned about some Mexican holiday traditions and added some decorations to our room.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 0
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 9): 4
• Hours with no magnets (Last time: 6): 7

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, report cards, behavior, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.

***Our field trip to the Michigan Capitol and Historical Museum is this tomorrow, Thursday, December 5. Click the link to get one, or see the office. We are meeting at 7:15 am in the cafeteria. Students need a sack lunch with disposable containers.***

Spelling: We reviewed rules for using capital letters today. We’ll be having a spelling test soon.

Cursive: Cursive workbook pp. 49-51 are due on Monday.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles. Some groups worked on inferring and making connections as reading strategies.

Writing: We talked about how important it is for a fiction story to have a problem for the main character to solve. One way to think about this is to use the Somebody Wanted But So organizer: some character wanted something, but there was a problem, so the character solved it. For example, Dorothy wanted to get home to Kansas, but the Wizard wouldn’t help her unless she killed the witch, so she killed her and got help. Students practiced using this organizer to help think of their writing.

Today was also a drafting day for students.

Our current piece of writing is a fiction story, due Monday, December 16. Your student should be nearing the end of their draft by now.

Math: We practiced making organized lists to help solve problems. Journal P3-6 is the corresponding review page. Students also practiced math skills using Khan Academy. Many students practiced rounding and place value today.

Science: We reviewed our experiment with electromagnets and students completed a MiniQuiz about electrical conductors and insulators. Grades for the MiniQuiz were emailed to students. Have your student show you their results.

Social Studies: None today due to our reading skills practice today with MobyMax.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 1
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 9): 4
• Hours with no magnets (Last time: 6): 0

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Our field trip to the Michigan Capitol and Historical Museum is this Thursday, December 5. Some students haven’t returned permission slips. Click the link to get one, or see the office.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, report cards, behavior, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.