~Week Four~
We are in the groove and on the move! Students have settled into routines and we are glad to get to know each other better as learners. Here's a look at what we've been up to this week:
Science - Both classes have done some stream tables activities to observe the effects of erosion on clay/sand landforms. This scaled down version is a great way to see first hand the deltas, channels, and plateaus that are formed. Students have worked in groups to observe changes over time, record the time it takes for landforms to form and to connect these observations to real-life situations.
Posters galore! Each science group became and "expert" on the text they were assigned. These texts included information about John Wesley Powell, Native Americans in the Grand Canyon, Rivers, and Dr. Graf doing her experiments as a hydrologist. Students created visuals and presented their information to their peers while the audience members took careful notes. Ask your child about their group and their topic!
Starting tomorrow (Friday, September 10th) and continuing next week, students will re-create Dr. Graf's Grand Canyon experiment with red dye. They will dye the streams to witness the intricacies of deposition in their stream tables!
Social Studies (from Mrs.Whittington's blog)
Our next unit is on the human migration routes from Asia into North America and the adaptation of NativeAmericans to a variety of environments. Feel free to ask your student to bring home a textbook. My only demand of the students is they not read ahead. A lot of the meaningful thinking we do is make predictions and put together ideas based on what we've learned so far. If students read ahead a lot of that thinking is merely recalling and the level of discussion and learning is much lower for everyone.
5th Grade Math
Many FACTORS will go in to doing well on this upcoming test tomorrow! Pun intended! Students will take their first test of the year, covering all of unit one's essential areas. Students received a review today that they have as homework to finish if they did not do so in class today. Students have learned to find the prime factorization of numbers, reviewed place value, made connections about square numbers and can define prime and composite numbers. I am impressed with the level of focus in our math class and excited for the rest of this year!
Homework is essential in math! Almost every day, students will have a homework worksheet or study link assignment!
6th Grade MathFrom Ms. Whittington's blog:
We are moving through graphs and data analysis very well. These students are the best homeworkers I've ever had. Nearly 100% every day so far!! We will probably be ready for our first math test sometime the week of September 13. We'll also start doing some timed skill tests of basic math operations. I should have students set up for EM Games in the next week or so.
Language Arts
Writing - Practice makes....persuasiveness? We aren't aiming for perfection...but we ARE aiming for some convincing arguments in our writing pieces. Students have come up with topic sentences and are now backing those up with their rationale. They are formulating ideas to back up their arguments and addressing opposing arguments. Today, we learned about ways to "spice up" or enhance our writing with details, descriptive language and vivid imagery. Persuasive essays will continue to be drafted through next week.
Reading -Literacy circle groups are currently reading one of the following novels: Crash, Hatchet or The Egypt Game. Students in each group are responsible for fulfilling their lit circle role and coming prepared to discuss their book and add to their discussion with their assigned role responsibility (literary luminary, vocabulary enricher, summarizer, illustrator, and discussion director).
Oral Lit- We are currently reading The Giver as a whole class. This is time to practice our "think aloud" strategies as readers as we delve into the world of Jonas' community in this fictional novel. Students share what they wonder, predict, infer and connect as we experience a piece of text that elicits some very meaningful discussion about life and society.
Spanish - FRASES (phrases) are some of the useful pieces of the Spanish language students are beginning to feel more comfortable using. Phrases in Spanish such as "I am hungry," "I'm happy," "My head hurts," or "What a mess!" are just some of the phrases students have learned and practiced in class. We are learning the days of the week and a song to connect each day with different names for food. Encourage your child to use the phrases when they can!
Inquiry Projects - Students have self selected their inquiry project topic. This week, they have signed up to conference with me about their main investigation question, their plan of action and any other issues to resolve before we get into the research process. We will use a variety of resources to investigate and research and a variety of literacy opportunities to display our final results.
Homework is essential in math! Almost every day, students will have a homework worksheet or study link assignment!
6th Grade MathFrom Ms. Whittington's blog:
We are moving through graphs and data analysis very well. These students are the best homeworkers I've ever had. Nearly 100% every day so far!! We will probably be ready for our first math test sometime the week of September 13. We'll also start doing some timed skill tests of basic math operations. I should have students set up for EM Games in the next week or so.
Language Arts
Writing - Practice makes....persuasiveness? We aren't aiming for perfection...but we ARE aiming for some convincing arguments in our writing pieces. Students have come up with topic sentences and are now backing those up with their rationale. They are formulating ideas to back up their arguments and addressing opposing arguments. Today, we learned about ways to "spice up" or enhance our writing with details, descriptive language and vivid imagery. Persuasive essays will continue to be drafted through next week.
Reading -Literacy circle groups are currently reading one of the following novels: Crash, Hatchet or The Egypt Game. Students in each group are responsible for fulfilling their lit circle role and coming prepared to discuss their book and add to their discussion with their assigned role responsibility (literary luminary, vocabulary enricher, summarizer, illustrator, and discussion director).
Oral Lit- We are currently reading The Giver as a whole class. This is time to practice our "think aloud" strategies as readers as we delve into the world of Jonas' community in this fictional novel. Students share what they wonder, predict, infer and connect as we experience a piece of text that elicits some very meaningful discussion about life and society.
Spanish - FRASES (phrases) are some of the useful pieces of the Spanish language students are beginning to feel more comfortable using. Phrases in Spanish such as "I am hungry," "I'm happy," "My head hurts," or "What a mess!" are just some of the phrases students have learned and practiced in class. We are learning the days of the week and a song to connect each day with different names for food. Encourage your child to use the phrases when they can!
Inquiry Projects - Students have self selected their inquiry project topic. This week, they have signed up to conference with me about their main investigation question, their plan of action and any other issues to resolve before we get into the research process. We will use a variety of resources to investigate and research and a variety of literacy opportunities to display our final results.
Any questions? Let me know! dobyns.lynn@iccsd.k12.ia.us
Go Hoover Hawks!
~Ms. Dobyns
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