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Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 31-33 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles; some groups worked on visualizing as a reading strategy.

Writing: We talked about developing characters to make them seem real by adding these detail:

• action
• visual details
• talking
• the reaction of other characters.

Students also worked on drafting today. A fiction story will be due Friday, December 18. Your student should be done with their draft tonight and ready to revise tomorrow. Homework is to work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: We practiced adding large numbers today. Students also MobyMax Math to practice math skills.

Below are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

• Place value and rounding
• Addition within 1000
• Subtraction within 1000

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: We learned about another surprise conductor: salt water.

Social Studies: Students completed a miniquiz today about incentives. We also started to learn about specialization and division of labor. We learned that productivity can be increased by having experts divide up the work.

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.

¡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 17% of our country is Hispanic, and according to the New York Times, America has more Spanish speakers than Spain. 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 comment, email or send in a note and we’ll compare and contrast with Mexican traditions.

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:

• Place value and rounding
•  Addition within 1000
•  Subtraction within 1000

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.

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 28-30 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: Today was a reading skills and AR practice day.

Writing: We talked about ways to make a story feel more organized. One way would be to use paragraphs; another way would be to order events in a story from a beginning introducing the characters and settings, to a middle that shows the problem and ways to fix it, to the ending that shows how the problem was solved.

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: Students used Khan Academy to practice math skills. Some worked on addition within 1000.

Below are some skills we’ve been working on lately; if your student hasn’t finished these skills, now would be the time to finish. We’ll be moving to another topic next week.

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: We completed an experiment together about how to make an electromagnet stronger by making a bigger wire coil.

Social Studies: We finished learning about positive and negative incentives and wrote notes in our minibooks (those students that were organized enough to have their minibooks with them). There will be a miniquiz about this topic soon.

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.

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 28-30 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles; some groups worked on making connections as a reading strategy.

Writing: Students completed prewriting conferences 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 continued to practice making an organized list when trying to solve number stories.

Here are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: Students continued to work on a district assessment about electrical conductors and insulators.

Social Studies: We reviewed the idea of positive and negative incentives. Homework is to finish the Identifying Incentives page if not done in class.

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.