The Question of the Day was: Can you name the seven continents? After taking care of their morning business, the boys and girls completed a spelling practice paper and worked on their bucket filler posters.
During reading, we compared and contrasted two main characters from Blueberries for Sal. We used a Venn diagram as a way to organize our ideas. After working together on this as a whole group, the students made their own diagrams. They selected three ideas about Little Sal and/or Little Bear to place in each of the three sections of the diagram.
We combined math, art, science, writing, and reading with a blueberry activity. Each table received a bowl of blueberries. The students named the various colors they saw on the berries. We talked about the shape of the berries and decided it would be impossible to make a stack of blueberries. That led to an introduction of three-dimensional shapes and some of their properties. We looked at the museum box about blueberries as well as a diagram of the parts of a blueberry flower. The students filled in the names of the parts. This was meant to be a preliminary exposure to the terms. We also looked at a diagram of a blueberry. I used the Knife of Science to slice berries in half for the students to observe. They were able to see the tiny seeds inside. Of course, we had to taste the berries, too! This was one of the few times we will use our sense of taste to make observations. The students shared words they would use to describe the berries. Ask your child about this!
In the afternoon, music class followed Quiet Time. The boys and girls worked together as a group to complete a big puzzle showing the continents and oceans of the world. They then identified these land and water areas on a worksheet. The worksheet provided boxes of varying height to write the letters of each word. This proved more difficult for some children than I had anticipated. Let’s work on establishing the correct size of lowercase letters when writing.
At last it was time to participate in a Bell School service project. We joined Ms. Milstein’s fourth grade classroom outside on the south playground. The area directly around the addition has been prepared for development as a pollinator garden. The older students helped the younger ones dig holes and plant plants that bees, butterflies, and other pollinators will enjoy visiting. We look forward to seeing what this area will look like in the spring!
Finally, we continued learning about composting and our red wiggler worms. Ms. Whiting returned to 104 with supplies for adding bedding to our worm bin. The students took turns dunking paper egg and takeout cartons in water, wringing them out, and shredding them up to put in our worm bin. I am sure the worms will be thrilled to have more yummy bedding in their home!
It was also time for our temporary classroom guest, the cicada, to head back out to his natural habitat. He was released in the butterfly garden after dismissal.
There will be a substitute teacher in Room 104 tomorrow. The students will take the Unit 3 spelling test and complete activities that build on what they learned in class this week.
During reading, we compared and contrasted two main characters from Blueberries for Sal. We used a Venn diagram as a way to organize our ideas. After working together on this as a whole group, the students made their own diagrams. They selected three ideas about Little Sal and/or Little Bear to place in each of the three sections of the diagram.
We combined math, art, science, writing, and reading with a blueberry activity. Each table received a bowl of blueberries. The students named the various colors they saw on the berries. We talked about the shape of the berries and decided it would be impossible to make a stack of blueberries. That led to an introduction of three-dimensional shapes and some of their properties. We looked at the museum box about blueberries as well as a diagram of the parts of a blueberry flower. The students filled in the names of the parts. This was meant to be a preliminary exposure to the terms. We also looked at a diagram of a blueberry. I used the Knife of Science to slice berries in half for the students to observe. They were able to see the tiny seeds inside. Of course, we had to taste the berries, too! This was one of the few times we will use our sense of taste to make observations. The students shared words they would use to describe the berries. Ask your child about this!
In the afternoon, music class followed Quiet Time. The boys and girls worked together as a group to complete a big puzzle showing the continents and oceans of the world. They then identified these land and water areas on a worksheet. The worksheet provided boxes of varying height to write the letters of each word. This proved more difficult for some children than I had anticipated. Let’s work on establishing the correct size of lowercase letters when writing.
At last it was time to participate in a Bell School service project. We joined Ms. Milstein’s fourth grade classroom outside on the south playground. The area directly around the addition has been prepared for development as a pollinator garden. The older students helped the younger ones dig holes and plant plants that bees, butterflies, and other pollinators will enjoy visiting. We look forward to seeing what this area will look like in the spring!
Finally, we continued learning about composting and our red wiggler worms. Ms. Whiting returned to 104 with supplies for adding bedding to our worm bin. The students took turns dunking paper egg and takeout cartons in water, wringing them out, and shredding them up to put in our worm bin. I am sure the worms will be thrilled to have more yummy bedding in their home!
It was also time for our temporary classroom guest, the cicada, to head back out to his natural habitat. He was released in the butterfly garden after dismissal.
There will be a substitute teacher in Room 104 tomorrow. The students will take the Unit 3 spelling test and complete activities that build on what they learned in class this week.