January 20th, 2023

,This week my students have been working full speed ahead! In math they have been playing "Racing Fractions", by finding different ways to add fractions with a different denominator and to get to the end of different number lines first. Students have also been introduced to decimal counting, how to write decimals with numbers and fractions, and how to name decimals. Students have been forming decimals using mats, strips and units of the base ten pieces. During our guided reading group sessions, students have learned how to compare and contrast two different types of avalanches by grouping the comparable topics, we have also worked together to find the main idea of the story, and investigated causes and effects in the text. Students have also been introduced to the different types of Context Clues when finding difficult or interesting words, using the acronym "I.D.E.A.S." Inferring, finding the Definition in the text, finding the Explanations, or finding Antonyms or Synonyms. During their independent reading rounds, students have continued working on different choices for reading and writing. During our Trickster Tales writing block, our Writer in Residence Motoko has guided our students in choosing one major natural disaster for their stories, and describing it using the 5 senses. In the afternoon, we have continued reading The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor, and we have explored the different types of lava during our Science unit on the Birth of Rocks. Students have been hypothesizing about why some volcanos have a cone shape and others a shield shape, and how the consistency of the lava affects the type and form of the volcano.
​Take a look at this week's slideshow!