The Week in Review Plus Star Students

#24 and #5

 



Congratulations to these two math superstars. These girls are the first two students in our class to successfully memorize all their basic multiplication facts up to 12 X 12. Way to go, girls! Committing these facts to memory now will make things a whole lot easier in the next few weeks as we delve deeper into the complexities of multiplication. I encourage you all to take some time this weekend to work on multiplication facts with your children.

READING: We finished reading The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. Students discovered how the writer used different animal stereotypes to convey personality traits. Students also discussed how the writer described the setting in such picturesque detail that the settings became characters themselves. We continued using questions and wonderings to keep our brains engaged in the story.

WRITING: We used story structure to help us format our personal narratives. Students used the three P's of a story; people, places, and plot.

MATH: We explored patterns in the eight times table and the six times table. As noted above, two students have memorized all their times tables up through twelve times. Most are up to their sixes and sevens. A few students are still working on their threes and fours. I encourage all parents to help their children study their basic multiplication facts. In the weeks ahead, the concepts we will cover will become more complex i.e. multiplying and dividing by fractions. Students will benefit greatly if they have their facts memorized by then. On a related note, no math homework this weekend other than studying and memorizing facts. 


SCIENCE: We examined the three main types of joints in the human body. Students used their new-found knowledge of joints to locate specific types of joints on Mr. Bones. We also began investigating how skeletal muscles work together to move the human skeleton. We began putting together a study guide to help us prepare for the unit test next week.

SOCIAL STUDIES; We could not have better timed this week's naturalization assembly if we tried. Having watched 22 immigrants swear an oath to become American citizens, students began reading about and exploring the history of immigration in the U.S. We learned about the various reasons immigrants come to the U.S. as well as the cultural impact. Students were thrilled to discover which of their favorite foods owe their presence in the American diet to immigration.

BOOK PROJECTS: Most students turned in three postcards they created in response to a non-fiction book they read in February. If your child hasn't yet turned in the project, please encourage him or her to do so soon. In order to give students time to work on their Young Authors Day stories, there will be no book projects for March or April. Look for them to return in May.