After a restful (or maybe eventful) Easter weekend, we jumped right into this week. Third Grade enjoyed their field trip to the Capitol on Monday(more on that later),and Fourth took their Writing STAAR on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we held Breakfast and the Paper and a short Read In, which brought us to the end of the week before we had a "normal" schedule!
Third graders enjoyed a beautiful day exploring the State Capitol on Monday.
We even got our own "land grants", complete with embossing!
We completed a scavenger hunt on the Capitol Grounds and found the Capitol's cornerstone!
Once inside, we learned about influential Texans and some of the symbols that represent our great state. We saw A LOT of stars...
...including this one in the rotunda that looks small but is over eight feet wide.
Second grade even designed their own weather tools and shared them during a gallery walk. Such creative ideas!
Can you spot the rainbow?
Fourth graders got a preview of next week's ecosystem study with some plant and animal observation time.
...and some sharing of March Homework.
April's Homework came home with your reader/writer/mathematician/scientist today. Please encourage them to share it with you, make a plan, and maybe even get started!
Have a great weekend,
SBLC Crew
All this to say that the kids have had authentic opportunities this week to practice flexibility, mindfulness, focus, and organization. We have been taking lots of mindful breaths to calm or energize ourselves as we have needed them, as well as using the Brain Gym exercises that our counselor, Ms. Bankston, has taught us in Morning Assembly.
In reading and writing, we have been learning new ways to approach our nonfiction text. We have learned to keep 3 Big Questions in mind as we read nonfiction -- What surprises me? What did the author assume I knew? What challenged, changed, or confirmed my thinking? These are places we need to stop and make margin notes. These questions cause us to interact with the text, rather than simply trying to memorize it.
From there, we examine specific signposts and their corresponding questions: Numbers and Statistics (How do these help me understand what I am reading? Why are these important?), Extreme or Absolute Language (Why is the author saying it like that?). There are 5 in total, however, we are trying to become experts at these two first. We will be learning the others in the next couple of weeks.
As we are noticing and USING the signposts and questions, our understanding deepens. It has been amazing to see each grade level interact with our Time for Kids and Scholastic News articles. Ask them to share some new learning with you!
In math, 4th graders had an assessment over angles on Monday. Then we began our new unit on measurement. We used benchmarks to understand the relative size of measurements units such as: a finger tip is about one inch, a baseball bat is about one yard, or one pound is about the weight of one loaf of bread.
Our 3rd graders have been finding the perimeter of figures. We used geoboards and rubber bands to create a figure and find the perimeter. We then used dot paper to record our results.
Second graders also began measuring things in inches. They used one inch tiles to measure the length of things. All 3 grade levels ended the week completing Sunshine math.
In math, 4th graders had an assessment over angles on Monday. Then we began our new unit on measurement. We used benchmarks to understand the relative size of measurements units such as: a finger tip is about one inch, a baseball bat is about one yard, or one pound is about the weight of one loaf of bread.
Our 3rd graders have been finding the perimeter of figures. We used geoboards and rubber bands to create a figure and find the perimeter. We then used dot paper to record our results.
Second graders also began measuring things in inches. They used one inch tiles to measure the length of things. All 3 grade levels ended the week completing Sunshine math.
Third graders enjoyed a beautiful day exploring the State Capitol on Monday.
We viewed the Goddess of Liberty from the Visitor's Center and also learned how soldiers during the Texas Revolution were granted land in return for their service--over 1,200 acres!
We even got our own "land grants", complete with embossing!
We completed a scavenger hunt on the Capitol Grounds and found the Capitol's cornerstone!
Once inside, we learned about influential Texans and some of the symbols that represent our great state. We saw A LOT of stars...
...including this one in the rotunda that looks small but is over eight feet wide.
In addition to touring both the chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives, we were given special access to the House floor. We got to sneak behind the velvet ropes and bang the gavel just like the Speaker of the House!
Back on campus, we continued our study of weather and have become experts at predicting and measuring weather. Luckily we had quite a variety to work with this week.
Second grade even designed their own weather tools and shared them during a gallery walk. Such creative ideas!
Can you spot the rainbow?
Third graders are planning an imaginary vacation and have been researching the weather in their destination of choice.
Fourth graders got a preview of next week's ecosystem study with some plant and animal observation time.
We ended our week with some inside recess fun...
...and some sharing of March Homework.
April's Homework came home with your reader/writer/mathematician/scientist today. Please encourage them to share it with you, make a plan, and maybe even get started!
Have a great weekend,
SBLC Crew
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