Scholars have been building up their reading and writing stamina each day. Ask your child about their free choice book in Ms. Sawtell’s class and daily writing prompts in Ms. Bellot’s class.
In Ms. Sawtell’s Class:
Scholars took the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI). This is a reading test given three times a year (September, January and May). We will soon be analyzing our results and having conversations with students and families.
We continued our work with precise writing using “spicy” words. We learned to use a thesaurus and found synonyms for drab words such as happy, sad, mad that we recorded in a section of our journal. We used our “spicier” words to form interesting phrases that are now on our word wall.
We learned that one word can have a large spectrum of meaning. For instance, the word mad could be “angry, vexed, or frustrated”.
Scholars used talk tools as a way to guide deeper discussions.
We practiced our speaking and listening skills through Restorative Practice (RP) circles and found ways to connect with one another.
This coming week, students will write six word stories and start learning about sensory language.
Working together to determine the spectrum of meaning a word can have.
Word wall of spicy phrases.
Spicy phrases
One student’s list of boring and spicy words.
Another example of spicy and boring words.
In Ms. Bellot’s Class:
Scholars continued learning about the five themes of geography: region, location, interaction, movement, and place.
We spent time identifying absolute locations around the world using latitude and longitude. We practiced using Google Earth as well as printed maps.
Scholars wrapped up the week with a competitive round of BINGO using coordinates of latitude and longitude.
This week, using research skills, scholars will be creating a travel brochure based on a region of their choice.
On Fridays we watch the “Week In Rap” as way to stay current about national and world news.
