Just like The Little Engine that Could...

We used perseverance as our central theme for this week's work. We learned about ways we can show persistence, learn from failure, and set goals to stay focused. We talked about challenges we've faced and are facing, and how we can choose to keep going! In reading, we learned a new tool Mrs. Forrest created to help us analyze sentences. By breaking it apart, we can identify all the specific pieces and see how they come together in the model sentence. We have the opportunity to tell why each part is there (including that apostrophe, comma, etc.) and then replicate the sentence with one of our own. It provides great reinforcement of grammar and mechanics rules as well as a chance to see good writing and practice it ourselves. In reading, we continue to work on summarizing, annotating, and providing evidence with text in our thinking. Fourth is reading Ugly by Robert Hoge, Third is reading Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes, and Second is learning about ordinary people who have done extraordinary things through Brad Meltzer's biography series.

2nd graders used multiplication concepts in all kinds of exciting ways this week! They learned a dice game called Circles and Stars so they could practice their skills with repeated addition and skip counting. We're also creating slideshows of everyday items that we can count in equal sized groups.  3rd graders are wrapping up their fraction work and used all kinds of models to explore equivalency.  We compared fractions with a pizza version of "Would You Rather?" and worked with fractions on number lines, too. 4th grade wrapped up data analysis and then moved into a study of angles.  We're classifying different types of angles and making connections to ways that we see and use angles as a measure of turn.  We've become familiar with some benchmark angles, started honing our estimation skills, and put our protractors to work. 

All of our SBLC meteorologists continued their study of weather. Second graders discovered that there are different types of clouds and that they can give us clues about the current and future weather. We've become expert observers! We also learned about the characteristics of different storms and extreme weather, like tornadoes and hurricanes. Third graders planned a vacation of their choice! After selecting their destination, they chose the dates of their travel, researched the weather, determined their packing list, and created a presentation to share with their classmates. Fourth graders explored some technology tools to further their knowledge of meteorology. They researched to learn about weather fronts and used an on-line weather simulator to see how temperature and humidity affect weather systems.

Valentine's Day is nearing! We showed the students how to access the Shutterfly site for class names, and they know the options for Valentine delivery. Also, be on the lookout for conference forms coming home next week. We will send an email explaining those, and a sign up for optional conferences will be available soon after.

Have a lovely weekend!
Team SBLC