Week Eleven

We had a fun week in Room 104.  We continued with more non-fiction work,  used place value disks in math, and tried to determine if toothpaste is a solid or a liquid in science. Oh, and we celebrated Halloween, too! 

Our ELA Block included new spelling words and more handwriting practice.  Let's continue to improve at both! In RUOS, we continued our "Becoming Experts" unit by focusing on identifying nonfiction keywords and finding their meaning from text features on the page and in the book.  In WUOS, we started new nonfiction "books," creating a table of contents and adding chapters and other text features. We also wrote nonfiction books about solids and liquids in science, which are now on display in the hallway! We will continue to edit and work on improving our writing next week.

In our afternoon block, we investigated toothpaste in Science. Is it a solid or a liquid? We observed toothpaste and shared ideas supporting both sides. Then we mixed it with water, observed it, then shook it, and observed it some more. The next day we saw small particles in the water. We poured the mixture out and let it evaporate. It left whitish crystals on the bottom of the container which led us to believe that it was a solid. Next week we look at heating and cooling of solids and liquids. In math, we worked more on place value and counting up to 1000 by using place value disks. The disks were worth ones, tens, and hundreds. We learned to see each number as having those values and began to compare them using greater than, less than, and equal to. We will try more next week, as well as try to order numbers by value.

We also had some fun specials, too. We painted pictures with tempera in Art with Ms. Sundquist. We worked on tempo and learned a new song in Music with Ms. Altshuler. We learned about Dia de los Muertos in Spanish with Sra. Colmenero. We read a story and checked out books in the Library with Mr. Withers and Mrs. Frost. We played hockey in P.E. with Mr. Simatic. We got our eyes checked on Friday during a vision screening. And best of all, we had an awesome parade and class party on Halloween in Room 104. A big "thank you" to all of our parents that helped plan, donate, and participate in our day. You're the best!

Looking ahead, students get Tuesday off next week for the Teachers' Institute (and Election Day). Have a great weekend!