Take a Peek at Our Week!

We had a great week before break! We spent our independent time with the fireplace on the Smartboard listening to holiday music....so relaxing!!

In lang & lit, we continued to work with summarizing nonfiction texts. After break, we will move on to making inferences and analyzing multiple accounts of the same event!

In writing, students worked on elaboration in order to clarify/explain their facts for the reader. Students paired up with a peer and shared the facts they chose to elaborate in their Titanic essays. We also looked at examples of  Titanic essays in order to anchor into our rubric. Students scored each essay example as a 1, 2, 3, or 4. Then, they discussed with a partner the reasons for their score. Our next step was to use the rubric to score our own work! After break, students will be working on a second informational essay to show what they have learned!

In I&S, we started working on our exploration planner! We started with a "see, think, wonder" activity in which student analyzed different artifacts representing exploration. After the activity, they discussed the debatable question- "Is all exploration positive?". Students also took time to record facts about the listed explorers in order to select one they wanted to become an expert on. Students will be studying their expert explorer through the lenses of motivations/goals, obstacles, interactions with natives, trade, and exploration routes. When we return from break, we will talk about what motivated exploration.

Several students have been applying what they are learning in Design during recess. Lots of inquiry and testing hypotheses happening through the building of card houses!! Impressive!

 

Reminders:

*12/23-1/3 School Closed 

*1//7 One School, One Book Night at the Village 6:00-7:30

I wish your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Cherish your time together....may you have much happiness and love in the new year!

Happy Break,
Mrs. Carr

Take a Peek at Our Week!

In lang & lit, we continued our work with nonfiction texts and finding the author's purpose for writing the article. We also worked on identifying the text structure that best supports the author's purpose. Students responded in writing using our RACCE strategy to explain their thinking. We also worked on success criteria for scoring our own RACCE responses. Students generated rubrics for each score (1, 2, 3, and 4). This allowed studnets to demonstrate their understanding of the specific expectations for a RACCE response and then assess their own performance! Next week we will shift into summarizing nonfiction texts on exploration technology which aligns with our next I&S planner.

In I&S, we reviewed our early civilization planner and used the Brainpop "make a movie" feature in order to prepare for our summative assessment. Summative assessments will be scored and sent home early next week for your review. Next up, exploration!!

In writing, we worked on "pumping up the volume" on transitions! Students worked with partners to add a variety of transition words (ones that go beyond first, then, next, and last) to their Titanic essays. Next week we will work on elaboration....then it will be time for final edits! Wow!

Our second round of WIN will be ending next Thursday. We will be starting round three after Christmas break. I had the pleasure of working with this crew on writing biographies this round....what a great group!!

Reminders for Next Week: 
*12/10 In-School Chorus Concert....looking forward to supporting our friends! 
*12/11 Holiday Shop (Mrs. Ottman & Mrs. Carr)
*12/13 D.A.R.E. 

Have a great weekend!
~Mrs. Carr

Take a Peek at Our Week!

In language & literature, we worked on identifying the author's purpose for writing an informational article by using supporting evidence as a guide. Then, we found a text structure that best supported that purpose (compare/contrast, chronological/sequence, cause/effect, description, problem/solution). The students did a fantastic job discussing the specific purpose for the article!! This week, groups read about the origins of domestic dogs and what causes food allergies. The week after Thanksgiving, we will continue this work but add some RACCE response practice to the mix! Students will be reading about why leaves change color and plastic pollution in the ocean.

In writing, we finished up our Titanic research for our three subtopics and worked on identifying our strongest pieces of evidence.

Next, we drafted our body paragraphs using the cheeseburger strategy from earlier in the year. We made sure to include a topic sentence, 2-3 pieces of STRONG evidence, and a wrap-up sentence. We will finish up our introduction and conclusion paragraphs next week so that we are ready to glue all of the pieces together! This will set us up for transition and elaboration work!

In individuals & society, students finished their Adobe Spark projects for their early civilization research. Monday is our virtual museum! Students will be wandering and wondering to each "exhibit"  and recording their new thinking after viewing each student's work. What a fun way to present our projects...stay tuned for pictures from the event!

Reminders for Next Week:

*11/25 Conferences (please check your sign up!)

*11/26 Early Dismissal for Students

*11/27-11/29 School Closed for Thanksgiving Break 

*I will not be sending home a Reading Log Monday due to the short week...but I encourage your child to read over the break, especially if you're on the road traveling! 

Have a great weekend!
~Mrs. Carr

Take a Peek at Our Week!

We finished up our What's the Point planner in lang & lit! One of our final activities was a classroom walk to practice using context clues to help us determine the meaning of unknown words. This was a fun way to go over the skill while getting us up and moving!

You should have seen your child's lang & lit assessment come home this week. Just a reminder that you need to sign it and return by Monday, November 18th! After taking the assessment, students went through a reflection process to identify areas of strength and areas needing growth. They also worked through questions that were incorrect with a partner. After reflecting, students completed a Google form in order to identify goals for action as we move forward! I was so proud of the honesty and effort students put into this process. Next week, we will begin our next lang & lit planner; F.Y.I. (For Your Information). This planner focuses on non-fiction text, text structure, and author's purpose.

In writing, we began researching our first informational topic-Titanic! Students chose three subtopics that interested them and recorded their information in their research packets. We used two internet based resources and one book source in order to gather our research. Next week we will begin to draft our introduction and body paragraphs! The students are really enjoying this topic!

In individuals & society, we discussed the innovations and adaptations of  early civilizations using the see, think, wonder strategy. Students then researched innovations and adaptations for their expert civilizations. We also began our final projects for the planner using Adobe Spark Page! Next week we will continue to work on our projects to get them ready for our virtual museum November 25th & 26th.

Reminders for Next Week:

*11/18: Signed Lang & Lit Assessments DUE!

*11/22: D.A.R.E.

Have a great weekend!

~Mrs. Carr