Persuasion, Predicates, Produce, & (Owl) Pellets!

Grammar-  In grammar today, the class reviewed the four different kinds of verbs.  They practiced the chant for helping verbs, and then pointed them out in various sentences.  After taking time to discuss each type, the class worked on recognizing the different types, using clues from the sentence around it.  For instance, "is" can be a state of being verb, helping verb, or a linking verb, depending on how it is used.  We discussed their answers, and diagrammed sentences that involved each type.  Sentences with linking verbs contained predicate adjectives or predicate nominatives, sentences with action verbs contained direct objects (and sometimes indirect objects), and sentences with helping verbs contained other verbs.  It was a great comprehensive review.

Math- Today was a day of fractions in the 3B class and decimals in the 4B class!  Ms. Jennifer had each class working through review problems on the board and discussing issues that the children were having with the concepts. 

Writing-  In writing today, the 3B class continued to work on recognizing facts and opinions.  We looked through magazines, pointing out sentences of each type.  Then, we wrote them onto a chart.  At the end of class, we chose a movie.  I argued points to support my opinion that it was a terrible movie, while they came up with facts to support their opinion that it was great.  For homework, the class will be finding a persuasive article, and completing the page, "Persuasion Is All Around You".

The 4B class shared their findings from the "Persuasion Is All Around You" activity.  There were some great articles and advertisements, all trying to persuade the reader.  After they shared their findings, we discussed the different strategies that authors use to persuade their readers.  They make their main point, they bring up experts and other important people that support their side of the argument, and they use logic, numbers, facts, and data to make their point.  Further, the authors work to appeal to the audience's emotions.  The class was able to point this out in many of their example articles.  The authors also try to make themselves seem trustworthy and believable.  They may use studies and information to make their argument seem very convincing, and they build a sense of urgency for their causes.   We gave examples of each of these strategies, discussing their effectiveness.  At home, the class will be reading a persuasive article and evaluating its use of the strategies that they learned today.

Science-  In science class, Ms. Gail began with a review of the material covered in their at home assignments.  The children gave answers and made corrections.  Then, the big activity began; the class dissected owl pellets!  Ms. Gail gave each student a handout that showed different bones that they may find in their owl pellet.  As they pulled their pellet apart, they identified and cataloged their findings.  Then, they glued them onto a card.  I remember loving this activity as a child!  It was great to see the excitement among the students as they found skulls, ribs, and all sorts of other bones!

Literature-  The class discussed the answers to the comprehension questions from the past week.  They agreed that the text of "The Secret Garden" can be difficult to follow.  To help them get an idea of the accents and dialect, Ms. Gail brought in a clip from an audio version of the book.  I think this, as well as Ms. Gail's read-a-loud, will definitely help them understand what they are reading at home.

Social Studies-  For social studies today, the class used their reading on reform to complete a set of multiple choice questions.  They worked in pairs to complete their work.  Even though they were able to use their books and handouts, it wasn't easy!  At the end, they were able to combine with other groups to compare answers, looking up any that were inconsistent.  We will be grading them in class on Tuesday.

Agriculture- The first part of class was spent working on our agriculture song.  There are some tricky parts to sing, and I taught the class about syncopation.  By working with them to "stomp" the accents to the lines, the kids were able to make it work.  They drew a dot or star above the words that are accented to help them as they sing. 

After making progress with our music, we headed outdoors.  The kids and I made our way to the garden, which is ready to be tilled under in preparation for the warm weather garden.  We needed to pull up the carrots, so the kids lined up and all had a section of the row to pull.  There were carrots EVERYWHERE!  After the carrots were harvested, we moved over to the other plants that were petering out.  Some were still good.  The kids pulled them up, cleaned them, and placed them in our bag.  Instead of leaving the other plants to be tilled under, the class pulled them up and gave them to the goats and chickens.  It was a beautiful day!