Science.... How shocking!

Spanish- The class is learning Spanish words that are in the tale of Little Red Riding Hood! As they discuss the story, they are pulling out Spanish vocabulary for wolf, house, grandmother... and more. They are making a picture dictionary of the words that they learn, and will be making up their own unique ending!

Spelling- The students were excited (yes, excited!) to read the sentences that they wrote at home, so we spent some time sharing them with the class. Then, we took it to the yard for a relay spelling review game! Before I we started, the kids had to put themselves in reverse alphabetical order. Then, they took turns running to the fence and passing the ball to the next person in line. We're getting those wiggles out on this nice sunny day!

Poetry- We finished illustrating our “Hide and Seek” video and finished recording each student's recitation. I will compile it, edit it, and post it when it's ready to view!

Grammar- Yesterday, we had a very tricky lesson about contractions. The “not” contractions take a helping verb and the adverb “not”, combining them into one. In order to diagram sentences with these contractions, we have to pull them apart. The helping verb goes on the verb line but the “n't” is diagrammed as an adverb describing the verb! To drive this concept home, we wore colored hats. The kids were helping verbs, “n't” adverbs, and action verbs. They had to separate... and then the “n't” even had to lie on the floor as an adverb, under the verbs! I think this will help them to remember what to do with those pesky contractions! After our contraction review, we learned about direct quotations. When direct quotations are located at the end of a sentence, the punctuate inside the quotations serves as the punctuation for the entire sentence. Good to know!

Math- After a review of area and perimeter, the kids were able to get their hands on protractors and actually measure angles! It was incredibly helpful for them to create angles and measure them on their own. Although computer based programs are helpful, they simply cannot replace a hands on lesson. The kids learned how to line up the angle and how to read the protractors. We also made our own angles as a review of right, obtuse, and acute angles.

Science- We had a packed day in science today! We started out the class with a lesson on static electricity. The kids were amazed as I made a balloon stick to the wall. “How did you do that?!” We learned about positively and negatively charged electrons and how they flow from one place to another. Our lesson on electricity was jam packed with new terms and concepts! When discussing an electrical circuit's “load” (the light, motor, etc that is affected by the electrical current), one of our students compared the load in a circuit to the direct object of a sentence. He explained that the direct objkect of a sentence receives the action of the verb like the “load” received the action from the power source. LOVE IT!! Since we recently learned about the properties of light, we combined the two topics with a project on fiber optics. It is a project that will spill over into next week, as well!

Social Studies- After reviewing the homework assignments, the class learned about the advantages that each side had against the other during the Revolutionary War. They will review the reading assignment and work on a crossword puzzle, “The War in the North”.

Writing- The class wrote letters today, practicing the use of commas, indention, and thank you's in general! We have finished up some pretty big writing projects lately, so we're shaking out our writing hands and getting ready to see what's in store for us next week!