Room 113 News January 18
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Welcome Back Khun Pornthip!
Science - Air and Weather
We have started our study of air and weather. We kicked it off with some basic exploration and experimentation around these ideas:
- How can we know if air takes up space?
- Can air be used to do jobs?
- What happens when we mix air and water?
- Can air be transferred from one container to another under water?
Today, students created a video explaining 2 experiments they did. The majority of the class did not predict the outcomes shown. It's been fascinating to watch the students make their discoveries!
Writing - Reviews
Thank you for helping with travel notebooks during the vacation. These have helped students to begin writing wonderful reviews. So far, we have written reviews about restaurants, smart phone apps, digital games, foods, and movies. This unit of study has given our class the opportunity to discuss and practice elaboration. Students have been asked to justify their opinions with reasons and explanations for each. On Friday, we visited ISB's cafe to taste and learn about three smoothies. Today, we picked the one we liked most and started writing a detailed review sharing our recommendation. The structure of this kind of writing has been an emphasis. Here are some examples:
Math - T-shirt factories
In math, we have formed groups and have been working on addition, subtraction, and place value around the idea of t-shirt factories. Each group has given themselves a name and are "making" t-shirts, keeping track of inventory, and deciding how to keep track of their sales. The book we read that kicked this off was Grandma Eudora's T-shirt Factory by Cathy Fosnot. We will continue to work in our "companies" and use this rich story to prompt more practice and more group and partner work around this context.
Reading
Our class is continuing our series book clubs. Last week, students worked with partners. This week, we will form groups of three and four to continue practicing our discussion skills. Our class mentor text has been the Lulu series, which has prompted so many rich discussion about friendship, loyalty, bullying, trust, etc.
Announcements and Reminders:
Jan. 25 - ES Individual Make-up Photos, 7:30 - 2:00 (ES MPR)
Jan. 26 - 1:00 pm Early Dismissal
Jan. 27 (Wednesday) - Our Class Photo @ 8:15am
Jan. 29 ES After School Activities Registration Opens