This week in our learning:
LA:
We continued to follow Shade and his colony on their journey to find the bats who never returned home, in the book Sunwing. This led them into a human building that housed a simulated forest environment. Many believe that it is "paradise" while others are suspicious. We think that it might be a science lab.
We've learned a few new techniques that we can use to create strong written work. The first was personification, in which we give human traits to inanimate objects. For example; the flower begged for water. The second, was creating a strong first impression. Here we learned about beginning sentences that draw in a reader with a good first impression. There are six techniques and they include:
- start with a problem
- start with dialogue
- start with a statement or fact
- start with a question
- start with an action
- start with a sound.
We are going to practice creating strong beginning sentences next week. We also revisited using voice in our writing to create a sense of a character without coming right out and saying it.
MATH:
We've come to the end of the Number to 10 000 unit and have started to review and practice in preparation for part 2 of our quiz. Areas that we need to revisit include strategies for estimating, mental math, and solving addition and subtraction equations (both 3- and 4-digits). We reviewed these by completing a "show what you know" assignment and will continue to have small homework tasks until the quiz.
SCIENCE:
We had the opportunity to look at a few more Rube Goldberg cartoons, as well as a few more examples of contemporary machines that were created with him in mind. After creating a list of simple tasks that we do on a daily basis in the morning, afternoon, and evening, we sketched our own Rube Goldberg themed cartoons that used complex machines to complete one of these tasks. For example, a complex machine that takes a complicated path to help you brush your teeth or one to turn your alarm clock off. We shared our creative ideas with each other. We are super engaged in this exploration.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
We are nearing the end of our regions projects and are working hard to create a final project that will be both informative and entertaining. We have also been looking at how thoroughly the First Nations people of early Alberta utilized the buffalo for survival. We learned the native words for parts of the buffalo and are working at listing the numerous ways each part of the animal was used. The First Nations believed that the spirit of the animal deserved to be respected and shown appreciation. Therefore, they used all available parts in order to avoid wasting a gift that was given to them.
FRENCH:
We are now able to count from 0 -100 and can name the days of the week and months of the year with a little more confidence.
Agenda:
-Read at least 30 minutes daily
-Math review homework due Monday
-Class photo on Monday, so dress your best
-Report card go home on January 31st
Have a wonderful weekend!