First I wanted to say thank you for the thoughtful cards and gifts for Teacher Appreciation this week. I feel very appreciated and very fortunate to work with your children. It's a joy to work alongside them--to be a community that learns and grows together.
I can hardly believe that it's May 18th and we have only about one month left together. This year has absolutely flown by, but we have so many fun things and so much exciting learning still to come. This week also flew by. Here's what we've been up to...
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| Monday we toured the State Capitol buildings. Click to view all the pictures from our trip! |
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| Using quartzite as "grinders" against other rocks. The chipped off fragments fell to black sheets of construction paper. |
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| Students discovered that not all rocks have the same hardness. This pumice rock is being pulverized by the quartzite. |
Field Trip
- We took a field trip Monday to the Olympia State Capitol. We toured the Legislative Building including Governor Gregoire's Office, the House and the Senate. We also toured the Temple of Justice (Supreme Court), and saw the Governor's Mansion from the outside. Our tour guide was amazing and had a great sense of humor. Students learned many new things that dovetail nicely with our State Government unit we just finished. Thank you to Christa Elin, Cari Kovats, Kim Mitzel, and Nancy Chabot for chaperoning.
Math
- Studied weight, geometric solids (3D shapes), and explored volume of rectangular prisms
- Began a new writing unit on Literary Essays
- Students are reading from a packet of five short stories. These are high quality literature, packed with lots of meaning
- We're learning strategies right now for how to read carefully, deeply, and uncover/record our own thinking about these stories
- In our Challenges book study unit we learned a couple different vocabulary strategies including using context clues/word parts and creating word webs to remember new vocabulary
- We also began responding to our reading in our response journals
- Students are loving these books
- Started a new read aloud: Hound Dog True--ask your child what's happened so far
- Students tweaked different variables (ie slope, amount of flow, landforms using clay, etc.) in their river table setups to try and change the shape of the river as much as possible
- Looked at examples of erosion and deposition, and we discussed what happens to rocks over time
- Students used quartzite rock to try and grind other rocks like pumice, limestone, sandstone, and slate. They made observations and discovered that the hardness of rocks differs.
- Discussed glaciers and modeled how glaciers shape land--ask your child about this!
