Weekly Updates May 2024

ELA Star 360 Testing - Wednesday May 8th

Order your yearbooks by May 9th!

Progress Reports sent home May 3rd

 

This week we started working on debate skills. The class watched videos of elementary students speaking about debate teams. They planned their argument for a question from Tuck Everlasting. Some students challenged themselves to plan both sides of the argument and state a rebuttal. We will try our first debate on Monday. Students also learned to identify static and dynamic and round and flat characters. Students also learned how to format dialogue in writing. They understand using punctuation and quotation marks, but needed practice starting a new line with a new speaker. 

 

Through the Wild Robot we learned different point of view from the island animals. The students did a fun activity where they drew a picture of a vocabulary word and their classmates had to identify the word. It helped them reflect on details and what could have been included to help their friends identify the word. They had a lot of fun in science doing an activity that showed how variations in animal traits can be detrimental to survival. We also read poems and identified theme, point of view, lines and stanzas. 

 

This week was Show Week and, as you know, it can be pretty busy! The students who were not involved in the show did a wonderful job keeping busy and staying on task.

 

The 4th grade class had the opportunity to compare the novels we have read to movies made about them. The consensus was that the makers on Tuck Everlasting (featuring three Oscar winners) did an ok job making the film. They liked some of the changes and didn't understand others. For example, the character of Miles seemed unnecessarily rough. They were glad that they made Winnie and Jesse the same age to eliminate the creepy....when you're 17 become immortal and marry me.....storyline. We also discussed our final projects that we will work on next week. 

 

The 3rd grade class had a fun week. We did an escape room that they all crushed! Some worked solo and some worked with partners, but they all seemed to have fun. We played some math games, read a lot and got to see our classmates perform during the dress rehearsal. It was a fun week but we are back to the Wild Robot on Monday! 

 

This week the 4th graders worked on a final project for Tuck Everlasting. They were able to make a commercial, poster or write a persuasive letter. They had to convince the 'audience' to invest in water that makes you immortal. They had to be persuasive and convincing. Students did a wonderful job. They presented their work and were able to power through some tech issues. They also gave their classmates thoughtful compliments regarding their work. The 4th graders were also allowed to choose one of the writing standards covered for a final essay. They could choose between persuasive, opinion, procedural, research or narrative. The writing projects need to be turned in by Tuesday. Students were given the option to type or hand write their final papers. 

 

The third grade students finished reading The Wild Robot yesterday. They took their final test today. I think they really loved this book and will probably harass you to see the movie in September! Students learned to write discussion questions, annotate and explain their thinking and find 'right there' questions vs inferences. In writing they were also given the option to do a final essay. They were able to choose between opinion, persuasive, how to or biography. They had the option to type the paper, but it had to be typed at home. We also learned in science class that adaptive traits can become non-adaptive traits depending on the changing environment.