November Happenings!

Hi everyone!
Last week was a busy one in Room 8.  We explored the concept of density in science with some hands-on investigations.  PARENTS BEWARE:  Students may be invading your cabinets to explore this concept further.  In class, we used water, cooking oil, and maple syrup to see which was the most dense.  Students were surprised to see the maple syrup sink to the bottom of our container.  If you have some empty water bottles at home, students can make and take their experiments to school for discussion with their peers! This week, students will use their five senses to explore mystery liquids in class.  Look for pictures later in the week!

In fundations last week, we worked with the v-e syllable and how to divide multisyllabic words.  This week, we are starting Unit 4 and will focus on v-e syllable exceptions.  Students will learn when to include the silent e in their spelling and when to drop it.  Cursive letters this week will include the "d" and the "g."

In reading and writing, we are continuing to think about story elements like: setting, character, and plot.  These are things you can easily incorporate into your nightly discussions.  Ask your child to tell you about the main character of their independent reading book:  What are they like?  How do they know?  Where is the story taking place?  What is the story problem?
Another skill we're working on in class is finding evidence in the story to support our ideas.  You can help your child to practice this by asking them to do the same with their at-home reading.  

Please note that this week, students will be starting their Reading Fluency Bags.  Monday these will be introduced to students, and the bags will be brought home for nightly practice.  Parent involvement is needed, so be sure to read the information provided by our Reading Specialist, Betsy Gadbois, to get a better understanding of what is involved.  Fluency bag reading may be done in addition to, but not in place of regular nightly reading.

We've started Chapter 5 in math:  Bar Models for Addition and Subtraction.  In this chapter, students are solving one- and two-step word problems using bar models as a strategy.  When solving two-step problems, one of the most challenging steps tends to be identifying which operation to use.  For extra at-home practice, check out this website: http://www.mathplayground.com/thinkingblocks.html
Select the addition and subtraction model, and your child can have access to all sorts of interactive problems that will allow them to create a bar model and solve the word problems.  It's a wonderful tool!

Also, we are now doing addition AND subtraction Mad Minutes in class, so please be sure to have your child practice their facts each night!

Thank you, and stay tuned......

Halloween STEM Challenge

On Halloween, students worked in teams of three to complete a Candy Corn Tower Challenge.  With one cup of candy corn and 100 toothpicks, students had to build the tallest, free-standing structure they could.  First, students created a written plan and diagram for their tower.  Students then had 15 minutes only to construct their tower.  Everyone created a great plan, but unfortunately......the candy corn did NOT want to cooperate.  Halfway through, we switched to Plan B:  Playdough! Congratulations to Dylan, Nate, and Alex for creating a 7" tower!

Attempt #1 - Candy Corn

 Jordan, Julia, and Grainne worked on several different models!  Boy were they persistent!

 Jacoby, Garrett, and Gage were all business!

 Astrid, Madie, and Giovanna working hard to get those toothpicks in without cracking their candy corn!

 Charlie, Ryan, and John - had a great plan, but those candies just would not cooperate!

Amber, Natasha, and Campbell worked so hard with those materials!

Alex, Dylan, and Nate were quick to try Plans B and C when their first plan didn't work.  Way to stick to it, boys!

Attempt #2:  Playdough

With this dense, sticky matter, students were much more successful in building their towers.  Certainly a fun activity that required determination, patience, cooperation, and creativity.  A job well done to all!

The Great Pumpkin Activity

I'm pleased to announce that our pumpkin activity was a huge success on Friday!  First, I'd like to thank our parent volunteers:  Mrs. Cantalupo, Mrs. MacKeen, Mrs. Hubbard, Mrs. Dupuis, Mrs. Rolfe, and Mrs. Green.  Without their help, we definitely could not have completed this project.

 Students worked with their parent volunteers to describe their pumpkin by its physical properties.

 Circumference was explored by using various materials like paper clip chains, string, and pipe cleaners.  Students really worked together to find the best strategy for measuring!

 Everyone investigated the concept of buoyancy by predicting whether or not their pumpkin would float.  Many were surprised to find out that indeed - pumpkins DO!

 Mrs. Hubbard's group hard at work building their paperclip chains!

Other items were explored at the water tub as well.  Students found that their pumpkin and the pepper both float due to the air inside.  Other, more dense items, like the marble, rock, and bouncy ball both sunk right to the bottom!

Mrs. Dupuis talking to her group about why that big pumpkin is floating in the tub!