December 7th, 2015
Class activities for Monday, December 7
Spelling: Today we reviewed common spelling patterns for the long /i/ sound and also learned that idioms are sayings that have a hidden meaning.
Cursive: Cursive pp. 31-33 are available in class and due on Friday.
Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.
Writing: We read a story called, Girl Wonder, that was organized in chronological order, with each chapter being about an event in a person’s life as she got older.
Students also worked on drafting today. A fiction story will be due Friday, December 18. Your student should be drafting at this point. Homework is to work on writing for at least 15 minutes.
Math: We practiced using rounding to estimate addition and subtraction answers. Students also used Khan Academy to practice math skills. Students are finishing rounding and place value skills, and also trying to master addition or subtraction within 1000.
Below are some skills we’ve been working on lately:
Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.
Science: We reviewed our last experiments about electromagnets and conductors, and we wrote notes in our minibooks. We also started to learn abut surprise conductors. Conductors are usually made of metal, but one surprise conductor is graphite (pencil lead, made of carbon).
Social Studies: We started learning about some Mexican holiday traditions and decorations today. This December, we will be looking at how Esperanza, the Mexican girl from our shared reading story, Esperanza Rising, would have celebrated holidays in December. Mexico has many more days of significance during December, January and even into the beginning of February, than we have in the US. Today, we learned about the primary holiday decoration in Mexico: the Nacimiento (the birth).
This scene is usually placed in a prominent location, and can be as large as an entire room. The Nacimiento contains various people, animals, cacti, mountains, lights, cellophane waterfalls, mirror ponds, houses, and Spanish moss. There could be as many as 200 different figures in the display. Ours is in our showcase; Esperanza’s was in her hallway. Visit MexConnect for other holiday traditions in Mexico.
Do you have a family tradition you would like to share? Please feel free to comment or share a note and the class can compare your tradition to others they have heard of.
Notes:
- Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
- Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
- View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue or StudentVue.
Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.
