We continued our mystery unit last week with students meeting in their detective clubs to discuss the chapters they are reading. We modeled for students how to keep track of important clues and possible suspects (see examples below). Supporting their claims with evidence is extremely important when recording ideas in their detective case file and when sharing their ideas during the detective club discussions.
 |
| Students write important clues on their "Clue Clipboard." |
 |
| Students keep track of possible suspects and incriminating evidence on their Suspect List. |
Writing Workshop:
This week students chose a "big idea" that they wanted to feature in the personal essay they are beginning to write. First, they learned to write an opinion statement in which they stated their opinion on a big idea. For example, "I think all people should respect nature." Students then created an idea/detail chart. On the chart, they listed two reasons, or experiences, that supported their big idea. They also wrote introductions for their essay.
Math:
We are continuing lessons in Unit 3: Measurement, Time, and Graphs. This week students learned about metric units of liquid volume (milliliters and liters), customary units of units of weight (ounces and pounds), and metric units of mass (grams and kilograms). They also practiced solving word problems involving liquid volume and mass.
Social Studies:
We have been busy on our Northeast region tour! Since the last update when students were in Plymouth, MA, we have made additional tour stops in Boston, Massachusetts (where we learned about the Revolutionary War), the Erie Canal (where we learned about why it was built), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where we learned about the declaration of Independence and the Constitution), and Hershey, Pennsylvania. In Hershey, students took a virtual tour of the Hershey Chocolate factory as a way to learn about mass production. They also worked on an assembly line as chocolate makers from the early 1900s to compare how many Hershey Kisses they could make in 5 minutes compared to how many Hershey Kisses are made by machines in 5 minutes at the factory. Most groups made 20-30 Hershey Kisses, but that's not much compared to the 100,000 that are made in just 5 minutes at the factory!
 |
| Ready to travel to Boston, MA! |
 |
| Photos of the tour stops are projected on the SMART Board while we travel. |
 |
| Raghav and Elena work on their travel journal following a tour stop. |
 |
| Example of a students' first 4 completed travel journals. |
Hershey Kiss Assembly Line Jobs:
Cutter: Cuts a small square tin foil
Placer: Places the Hershey Kiss in center of tin foil square
Wrapper: Wraps foil around Hershey kiss
Inspector: Inspects the Hershey kiss to make sure it is covered and colors in a Hershey kiss on the inspection sheet if it passes the test.
 |
| Students enjoyed eating Hershey Kisses (that were not used on the assembly line) after the activity! |
Watch the video below to see your child in action on the Hershey Kiss assembly line!!
Adam was our awesome All-Star of the Week! He loved sharing and telling us all about his sharing sack items. He also showed us some great family photos, each one with a detailed story. He did a great job reading aloud "Charles the Ranch Dog," and he loved when his dad joined him as his lunch buddy!
No comments:
Post a Comment