Well, we told you to stay tuned to find out what was in our treasure boxes, and we sure made you wait a long time! Sorry about that. So, back to the treasure boxes. We opened one last week, and one this week. Last week's box was full of artifacts that taught us about homes of the Plains Indians. Native Americans in Kansas had one of three kinds of homes. Some lived in tipis, some lived in grass houses, and some lived in earth lodges. We saw models of all of these homes, and learned how they were built. This week, our box showed us just how many things the Native Americans could make using buffalo. They could make shovels, hoes, needles, toys, tipis, purses, and clothing! They even used the buffalo's bladder as a "water bottle!" We got to see one first hand. Ew.
Today was the final day to turn in Early Bird Sunflower Reader forms. Almost our whole class has met their goal of finishing Sunflower Reader. If they haven't, they have until May to get it done! Those of us who finished early get to attend a pizza party with the fabulous Mrs. Burgey.
In math, we've been doing geometry. Right now we're studying transformations. A transformation occurs when a shape moves from one place to another. One kind is a reflection. This week we made reflections of ourselves using Photo Booth on the computers. Then we drew a line of symmetry to show where we reflected ourselves. Now we're studying translations, which happen when a shape slides from one place to another but otherwise stays the same. We're drawing tessellations to help us remember what they are!
Our biggest project right now is happening in writing. We are writing a story for Time Magazine's Person of the Year in the year 2031. We are writing the story as if we have won the award, and telling about what we did to earn it.
We've been stuck inside with the cold weather, and are feeling a bit blue. Do you know what would cheer us up? POSTCARDS!!! We are still missing 17 states, and are worried that we might not make our goal. If you could help, please do!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Back to School
Welcome to the new year! It's hard to believe it's January, because the weather has been amazing. We can all say that recess was our favorite subject as we came back to school! Our classroom has seen a few changes with the flip of the calendar. One of our good friends and classmates moved away this week (we'll miss you!), but we also got to welcome a new friend to our class. Kyla is new to our school, and we're so happy she's here!
This week has been busy as we start lots of new projects. Our goal for this semester is to have a "Circle Up" time a few days a week at the beginning of the day. This will be a way for our class to get to know each other more and to practice good character.
In Communications, we are reading about Kansas. We learned that one side of Kansas has a much higher elevation than the other side due to the Rocky Mountains to the west of our state. We also learned that Mount Sunflower is the highest point in Kansas, but we'll let you in on a little secret...it's not a mountain at all, just a really big hill! In writing, we began a huge project. Do you ever read Time Magazine? Every year they name a "Person of the Year." We're pretending the year is 2031, and that we have won this prestigious award. Over the next few weeks, we'll be writing magazine articles telling about why we have been named Person of the Year, and we will be illustrating a cover for the magazine. Big news...our entire class is almost done with Sunflower Reader...only 3 more students need to finish for all of us to have met our goal!
In math we started reviewing shapes for the math assessment, and then we kept working on advanced multiplication. We are learning two-digit by two-digit multiplication, and some of us have moved on to three digits! We wanted to show you how we handle this kind of multiplication, so we made a video describing how to complete lattice multiplication. Check it out!
This week has been busy as we start lots of new projects. Our goal for this semester is to have a "Circle Up" time a few days a week at the beginning of the day. This will be a way for our class to get to know each other more and to practice good character.
In Communications, we are reading about Kansas. We learned that one side of Kansas has a much higher elevation than the other side due to the Rocky Mountains to the west of our state. We also learned that Mount Sunflower is the highest point in Kansas, but we'll let you in on a little secret...it's not a mountain at all, just a really big hill! In writing, we began a huge project. Do you ever read Time Magazine? Every year they name a "Person of the Year." We're pretending the year is 2031, and that we have won this prestigious award. Over the next few weeks, we'll be writing magazine articles telling about why we have been named Person of the Year, and we will be illustrating a cover for the magazine. Big news...our entire class is almost done with Sunflower Reader...only 3 more students need to finish for all of us to have met our goal!
In math we started reviewing shapes for the math assessment, and then we kept working on advanced multiplication. We are learning two-digit by two-digit multiplication, and some of us have moved on to three digits! We wanted to show you how we handle this kind of multiplication, so we made a video describing how to complete lattice multiplication. Check it out!
In social studies, we began studying Kansas by creating a map of our state. We'll be using this map all month to explore the land, economy, weather, and other aspects of our state. Kansas day is January 29!
The most exciting thing happened today in our classroom. A giant mystery box appeared at the front of the room. Well, it actually appeared at the back of the room, but Ms. J. carried it to the front. We really want to see what's inside, but Ms. J. said she won't open it until Tuesday. We know that the box is going to be used for social studies, and that it is from the Kansas State Historical Society. We can't wait to find out what's inside, but you'll have to stay tuned to find out, just like us!
Our postcard project has made GREAT progress. However...we still need postcards from 17 states! Please check out our postcard geography page to see if you can help. Many of the states we are missing are in the southern and eastern United States. This week we got lots of postcards from Pitt State Gorillas. Thanks to all the Gorillas sending us mail...you've helped a lot!
The most exciting thing happened today in our classroom. A giant mystery box appeared at the front of the room. Well, it actually appeared at the back of the room, but Ms. J. carried it to the front. We really want to see what's inside, but Ms. J. said she won't open it until Tuesday. We know that the box is going to be used for social studies, and that it is from the Kansas State Historical Society. We can't wait to find out what's inside, but you'll have to stay tuned to find out, just like us!
Our postcard project has made GREAT progress. However...we still need postcards from 17 states! Please check out our postcard geography page to see if you can help. Many of the states we are missing are in the southern and eastern United States. This week we got lots of postcards from Pitt State Gorillas. Thanks to all the Gorillas sending us mail...you've helped a lot!
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