Skip to main content

Evaluating Progress

It's hard to believe that we're already so far into the 3rd nine weeks and that we're evaluating progress since fall conferences! Your student has 2 copies of the spring conference form and a cover letter in his or her red folder this weekend. Please read the cover letter carefully, as it contains many details to streamline this process.

SBLC mathematicians have been exploring 2-dimensional shapes. We started by classifying 2-D shapes into many different categories according to their attributes. We found that a square "gets into all the clubs" because it's a polygon, quadrilateral, parallelogram, rectangle, and rhombus. We then applied our knowledge of 2-D shapes by creating tessellations. A tessellation is an arrangement of 2-dimensional shapes that repeat to cover a space. After studying some beautiful tessellation examples, we created our own examples. We discovered that sides need to connect precisely and that all of the interior angles that connect at a vertex must add to 360 degrees. We will continue with this excitng investigation and have enjoyed lots of authentic discovery of mathematical ideas, opportunities to use logical reasoning, and use of shape vocabulary. We also had a few fun wiggle breaks with some kinesthetic practice on lines and angles!



As scientists, we've continued exploring how water moves and causes changes to the Earth.  To better understand why rivers flow, we created models of mountains and then simulated the flow of water to areas of lower elevation and eventually to the ocean. We then considered how the flow of water causes erosion and how sand is created through this process.
 
We wrote, accepted critique, and revised our initial drafts of our Historical Fiction Vignettes! They have been fabulous researchers, writers, editors, and reflective practitioners in this project! I have collected their artifacts and drafts for review, but several have asked if they can bring them home soon to share. This project has challenged them -- and they have taken the challenge head on. How to write a clear piece. Critical thinking on how to incorporate accurate historical events. Point of view. Writing accuracy. We are definitely learning how to APPLY all our language arts/reading skills here! Our integrated unit will wrap up next week with a final product that we will share.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and again, look for the conference forms and instructions on how to return.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Patriotism, Good Citizenship, and Important American Symbols

This week we are studying in depth the intent, meaning, and importance of many American symbols, documents, songs, and speeches. In doing this, we are using some neat tech resources: Star-Spangled Banner Smithsonian Site Our Country's Flag Flag Manners The Pledge of Allegiance The Declaration of Independence The Constitution The Bill of Rights American Symbols

Properties of Matter

Hi, Scientists! Use the links below to learn more about properties of matter. When you are finished, leave a comment below stating something that you learned. Be sure to check for spelling, punctuation, and capitals! Third Grade http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/magnets_springs.shtml Fourth Grade http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/magnets_springs.shtml Second Grade http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml

Scavenger Hunt: Communities & Heritage

*Parents, this is an in-class assignment. :) Hello, citizens of SBLC! Today, you are going on a scavenger hunt with your partner to explore some of the communities you belong to and the heritage of our state. Remember to treat each other the way we agreed in our SBLC Constitution and--this is VERY important-- read the directions under YOUR grade level!  And of course...have fun! :) *2nd Grade: Our Communities Directions : 1. Add Scavenger Hunt to the Table of Contents in your Social Studies Notebook. Turn to the the next clean page to record your answers. 2. Use the link below each question to find your answers. Record your answers in complete sentences! 3. If you finish early, post a comment with your favorite fact. Then, explore the websites to discover other interesting facts. :) Example : (click on the picture to make it bigger) 1. School The SBLC is a part of  _____________ Elementary. Our school was named after ___________ . http://www.ki...