A Hands Down Good Day

Language Arts-- Today, we began with a review of spelling list 21.  The students took turns trying to spell a word correctly.  Each correct answer moved our "firetruck" one step closer to the house in need!  They worked as a group to move the firetruck along the board... finally putting out the fire.  We discussed the need to drop the silent "e" at the end of words before adding the suffix "ing".  The class demonstrated this skill, individually.
Art-- In art class, we started a very big "Handmade Rooster" project!  We traced each child's hand onto construction paper... and then cut out over 50 copies of each!  Each child had copies of their hands, in many different colors.  We layered the green hands and formed tufts of grass.  The class cut out their own flower petals and parts, layering them, as well.  This will serve as the background for our rooster hand collages!  This is going to take us a few weeks, but I bet it will be well worth it!

History- Ms. Allison taught the class about the Great Wall of China.  They discussed how the wall was constructed, the size of the wall, and the motivation behind its creation.  The children watched a short video on modern "rammed Earth" construction techniques, which is very similar to the way that the Great Wall was constructed.  The class worked as a group to create their own little "rammed Earth" wall! Afterward, Ms. Allison taught the class about Chinese writing.  They copied some of the symbols, discussing their meanings.

Math-  In math class, we worked on adding the same digit multiple times.  The students have been working at home on adding repeating digits, such as 2 + 2 + 2.  Today, we worked with manipulatives to expand on this concept.  The kids added "3 groups of 4", "2 groups of 5", and so on.  I then explained to them that they were actually multiplying!  We wrote out multiplication problems on the board, and the kids demonstrated them with their multilink cubes.  We took it even further by learning that 3 groups of 5 is the same as 5 groups of 3.  The students did not write any of the answers or problems.  I simply focused on seeing that they understand by working with manipulatives and giving oral responses.  They will be using the lesson from today to complete their at home assignments for the next few days.

Spanish- In Spanish class, Ms. Rose brought in construction paper plates, place setting cards, and place mat replicas for the students' fruit card game!  They also made little "grocery bags" for their pretend shopping trip.  To play the game, Ms. Rose said a phrase which began with either "Me gusta" (I would like) or "Necesito Comprar" (I need to buy).  The Spanish name for a fruit (which the students have been studying in class and at home) followed.  The kids had to choose the correct fruit, and either place it onto their plate or put it in their grocery bag, showing that they understood the phrase.  Ms. Rose wrote the phrases on their pretend place cards to help them!  The kids will continue to study these words at home.  They will be adding other foods when we return!

Science-  Science class began with a review of the story, "Forest of S.T. Shrew".  The class summarized the story, discussing microhabitats.  They then drew a picture of their favorite microhabitat from the story.  Afterward, Ms. Caroline read the book, "Have You Seen The Trees" by Joanne Oppenheim.  The class had a discussion on trees types and their importance.  Then, the class each drew their own illustration of one of the trees in the book.

We recorded the students' recitation of "God Gave Me Eyes" today.  These will be compiled into a video for each child!  They did a great job with this poem.  As we recite, we are working on slowing down and speaking loudly and clearly.  Afterward, we reviewed different grammar definitions.  We focused on pronouns, reading the story of "The Three Little Kittens".  That story is chock full of pronouns!  The kids had to stand up or sit down each time they heard a pronoun.  They were up and down a lot!

The class took turns sharing this week's writing assignment on "Giving".  These were excellent!  I think that the tree graphic organizer really helped!

Happy Butterflies!

The class ended with the students compiling their booklets on the seasons.  We have been learning about the seasons and months, their abbreviations, and capitalization rules.  They were excited to bind their booklets together and add them to their writing folders!