McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin

for the week of January 19th

Reading

Students have begun researching an animal to culminate and synthesize the nonfiction reading strategies we've been working on.  They started creating research maps, a special way to take notes by categorizing information they read from multiple texts.  The brain better remembers information when the information is categorized.  This can be done in more than one way.  Sometimes, we read a section or two of text and reflect, thinking, "What is this section mostly about?"  Maybe it's about the special body parts an animal has.  So we would then create a category on the research map with a heading, "physical adaptations."  And then we'd use bullets to list the ways in which that animal's body helps it to survive.  When we read another book, we might come across different adaptations, and we would add those to this category.  Another way to take notes using the research map is to start by anticipating the categories we might encounter before we start reading.  For example, we might predict that we will learn about an animal's habitat and what it eats.  So, we can list those two categories and then begin reading.  We would add details about those categories as we come across them in our research.

Using categories and bullets helps a child with note-taking while researching in many ways.  One way is that it helps to avoid copying sentences and paragraphs from books, which can be a waste of time and may not have much meaning for the reader.  Categorizing also demands that the child thinks about and makes connections between details and between sources.  Plus, we use colorful markers to write the category titles and big construction paper -- and that's fun!

Writing Workshop

The kids worked all week on the final drafts of their informational writing.  I was impressed by the focus and care the children displayed while doing this sometimes tedious work.  Perhaps equally as exciting (to me) is how well kids are using and applying the concepts of "pros & cons" and "compare & contrast;" connecting independent clauses with commas and conjunctions; and how they roll their eyes playfully when they come to me and say, "I need some advice on this part of my story," and I say very seriously, "Oh, I hope you're not writing a story, because the project we're working on is informational writing."  It may not seem like a big deal to the average bear, but it's important that we know what kind of writing we're working on.  

     They are excited to display this work on their posters, which we should be able to begin on Monday or Tuesday!  I worked on mine Saturday afternoon (trying to stay at least a few steps ahead of those 9 and 10 year-olds!), and I'll be demonstrating tips on organizing space, lettering, and the all-important tape vs. glue debate.

Math

Students learned to multiply large numbers this week using the partial products algorithm. They also did a lot of estimating their answers as a way to anticipate where their final answers should be, we refer to this as a ‘ballpark’ estimate.

Please continue to encourage your child to use their IXL account at home. I check the IXL usage report each week and award a homework pass for every five hours spent working on strengthening their math skills.

Spelling

This week we spent some more time working with tricky endings - or/er/ar and al/le/el.  Students participated in an activity in class that required them to use their visual skills to discern which word was spelled correctly.  Many students have reported using this strategy with success on their spelling tests.

Theme

This week students started learning about electricity.  Students first started by sharing prior knowledge and noting questions they had about electricity.  I have made a matrix of the questions so that as we start to discover the answers, we can record them.

Students also participated in a talk science activity that lead them to discover that in order for electricity to flow, you need a complete pathway or circuit.  We spent two days reading nonfiction books related to electricity to build a rich knowledge base, so students would truly understand the science behind the experiments we will perform next week.  They also watched a Bill Nye video on current electricity.
Finally, I have exciting news to share!  I was awarded a Foundation 51 grant for 24 Snap Circuit kits.  I am hoping that I will be able to order them quickly so that we are still able to utilize them in this unit.

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

Monday, January 26th - Read logs due / Sneakers for P.E.

Tuesday, January 27th - Study link due / Bring recorders for music if you have your own (new ones will hopefully be in!)

Wednesday, January 28th - Early Release

Thursday, January 29th - Spelling due / ABL

Friday, January 30th - Study link due / Report cards go home

Hope you had a great weekend!