May 21, 2014

Above, you can see pictures of all the great science things we've been doing lately, including the science fair experiments and students' circuit rooms! Now, we've moved on to learning about heat, light, and sound. We've experimented with tuning fork, made sound sandwiches, and created our own instruments. We'll learn more about light this week and next, and I expect the test to be on June 2.

Since it's the end of the year, we're wrapping up several units, which means there are other upcoming tests. The math test on multiplying two digit numbers is tomorrow, and our social studies test on the Midwest will be on Friday, June 30. Students are also going to be presenting their projects this Friday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. They signed up for a specific day last week, so everyone should know when they are going to share.

The students' research papers are turning out really well! I've been excited to see all the facts they've learned and how well they've organized their papers. We'll type them up in computer class next week and create a cover page and bibliography for them. They will be very professional looking!

May 8, 2014

We've been very busy with science lately! This week was the science fair, and the students' projects look great. I've had many compliments from other teachers about how professional and interesting the projects look. So far, we've shared them with the third and fifth graders, and each other. The students gave fantastic presentations, and I could tell that they had learned a lot. We also had students share their circuit rooms yesterday. Everyone came up with different ways to use the light bulbs and switches, and I think we have lots of future engineers here! Next week, we'll begin studying different forms of energy: heat, light, and sound.

In math, we're working on multiplying by two digit numbers. We're going to do a lot of practice this week and next, and I expect the test to be sometime the week of May 19. In reading, the students are reading The Bad Beginning, the first in a series of 13 books. I told students that I have all the books in the series and if they finish one, they are welcome to borrow the next. Some of them are racing through the books! While we read, we're discussing protagonists and antagonists, how to infer character's thoughts, and the theme and tone of the book.

The students have been doing a great job with their five paragraph essays! Next week, we'll begin working on a research paper. I'm going to bring in lots of books about animals, but I know some students would like to research a different topic. If they'd like, they can bring in at least three books about a person, place, or invention and use that as their research topic. These books should be brought in by Monday.

May is definitely a busy month, and we have some important dates coming up. Next week, on Wednesday, is the walk-a-thon. Everyone will participate, even if the students are not doing it as a fundraiser. It is gym uniform that day, since we will be outside in the park. At the end of the month, on May 28, is the awards ceremony where we will be giving out the peacemaker and effort awards. Each class will also perform a song, and we'll have work on display from all the classrooms.

Finally, we've started our ABC countdown! Each of the last 26 days of school has a letter, ending with Z on June 11. Yesterday was bubble gum day, today is carrots, and tomorrow will be a free dress down.

Pleasing The Ghost

The Tiger Rising