In writing, we’ve been putting together all that we have learned so far about information writing. We started making catapults and testing whether a ping-pong ball or a cotton ball would go farther! Of course, we go through all steps of a lab report: Question, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Results, and Conclusion.

In Fundations, we began a new unit on the long o sound. We have been sorting words by different spellings (oa, ow, oe) so we can begin learning which to use based on the patterns we see, along with practicing our new trick words!

In math, we’ve been working our way through our geometry unit by studying 2D and 3D shapes. We are also learning about arrays and equal groups. We played a math game called Array Concentration which is similar to the game called Memory. The goal of the game is to match a number card to the correct array card and collect as many matches as possible. This unit is a natural lead-in to multiplication, so you may see your student begin to connect arrays to multiplication!

In reading we have been practicing finding the main idea and supporting details of chapters, articles, and sections of a text. We worked with partners before trying it on our own. We also continue practicing our word-solving strategies and building up our independent reading stamina.

 

Science has been exciting as always. We had a lesson that involved sorting animal cards into different groups. Eventually we figured out that scientists classify animals by certain traits they share. We tried classifying some challenge animal cards, and also classified our stuffed animal friends into the groups we had just learned about.

We also had another visit from the Hitchcock Center. This week, we practiced testing the soil in the schoolyard! We compared soil from the forest to soil from the grass by using different tools. In groups, we tested how compact the soil was by using a dowel and pushing it into the earth; we tested how much water it can hold by using the percolation technique (pouring 1/2 cup of water into soil surrounded by an open coffee can and timing how long it would take for the water to soak in); we also used an auger to see a cross section of soil in order to observe the color.

On May 1st we welcomed in spring as a school with the Morris Dancers! We got to see some familiar faces amongst the dancers.

More fun times: