Learning Snapshots

In Readers' Workshop we've been diving deep into non-fiction.  We have been practicing how to get the most information out of our non-fiction texts by chunking pages together and giving them appropriate headings to describe the important information on those pages.  Here is an example: Learning in action

We have also been practicing using our best narrator voices to read the information.  We got inspiration from Jeff Corwin's narration skills in his Discovery Kids show Unleashed. Here is a clip we watched to get started.

Our word study work this week has focused on long vowel vs. short vowel sounds, and how to know which one a vowel is saying.  Students have discovered that if the one syllable word only has one vowel, it will be a short vowel sound.  If the word has two vowels, there is most likely a long vowel sound in the word.

In science, each student was given a pencil, some wire, and 2 clothes pins.  The direction was to build a stable system that allowed the pencil to balance on its tip.  This experiment took us 2 days to figure out and really tested out the classroom rule We don't quit when work gets hard! Here are the results:

 

On Friday we read Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Students shared their thoughts on what makes a hero:

 

Students have also been learning about MLK Jr. with Mrs. Costello in library class, as the beginning to a powerful unit on heroes.

Happy MLK Jr. Day and happy weekend, everyone!