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Welcome to my website where you will find information about special activities and projects happening in the classroom. Please scroll down to read my newsletter.
Math
We now are finished with Journal I and begin Journal II beginning with fractions and their uses. Students will review basic fractions concepts, the meaning and uses of fractions, and will color fractional parts of regions. Equivalent fractions, comparing fractions to determine whether a fraction is greater than or less than another, and renaming fractions as decimals and percents will also be covered. We will then go on to find the area of rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles.
Language Arts
After reading Eagle Song, our next book will be Top Secret by John Reynolds Gardiner. This book will compliment our study of Brassica plants as the main character, Allen Brewster, has an interesting idea for a school science project, namely, photosynthesis! Everyone laughs at his idea until he starts turning green, sprouts roots, and starts soaking up the rays of the sun rather than eating his dinner.
In writing, we have written about our family heirlooms, a connection we made through our reading of Annie and the Old One when Annie's grandmother passes on her weaving stick to her granddaughter. We have also written the story of how we got our names, and will begin reading and writing poetry. We have written list poems and cinquains and will soon be writing an autobiographical poem.
Science
We have now begun the STC kit entitled, "Experiments With Plants." This hands-on science unit features Wisconsin Fast Plants (Brassicas) as a vehicle for experimentation. These plants are especially well suited for classroom study because they are hardy, compact, grow under artificial light, and complete their life cycle in about six weeks. Students have designed their own controlled investigative experiments and are working in teams as they collect data, measure, observe, and record their findings. These finding will either prove or disprove their hypothesis and they will share their results with the class.
Geography
We are finishing up our study of Native Americans and will now turn our sights to the "Age of Discovery" and talk about European and Asian exploration. The essential questions we will ask are:
1. Why did people leave home?
2. Why did people explore? (The Europeans and Chinese)
3. What are the outcomes of two cultures coming together?
We will begin with the Vikings and their earliest explorations for the New World and then learn about Marco Polo, whose explorations and trade brought spices and silk to Europe. Marco Polo's writings about Cathay had a great deal of influence on Columbus and other European explorers. In addition to Columbus, we will also learn about Henry the Navigator, Cortez, Magellan, and several other explorers that students will research. The Chinese explorer, Zheng He, will also be discussed as we talk about his reasons for exploration, where he explored, and why Chinese exploration ceased after his final expedition.
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| Have a great summer vacation See you in September!
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