The Bees Knees!

Spelling- Today, we took turns writing the tougher spelling words on the whiteboard. Writing them with a dry erase marker is SO much more fun than just writing them on paper or saying them out loud!

Poetry- Continue to work on “A Time to Talk” at home. We will be making a video of this short poem in a couple weeks!

Grammar- Today, after going through yesterday's at-home work together, we reviewed comparative and superlative adjectives. We also did a review lesson on adverbs that describe other adverbs, adverbs that describe verbs, and adverbs that describe adjectives. They are doing a great job with their sentence diagrams!

Agricultural Ed- What a treat we had today! Tom Bonnell, President of the Henry County Beekeepers Association and County Extension Agent, came and spoke to the class about beekeeping. It wasn't just the kids that learned today, I was amazed by all of the cool facts about bees! Tom taught us how the bees determine which caste, or class, the newly laid eggs will need to be born into. They can be workers, drones, or another Queen. We learned about the complex life cycle of worker bees. It is absolutely amazing! Tom brought a smoker, a hive, and a beekeeping suit to show us. We learned about the different parts of the hive, and the supplies needed to start a beekeeping hobby. A big “thanks” to Tom for the awesome lesson today!

Math- We have been learning how to add and subtract fractions. Today, we learned how to reduce fractions to their simplest forms, and how to find equivalent fractions. We also used manipulatives to help us grasp the concept of improper fractions. It took a while, but eventually, they all grasped that eight fifths is actually ONE and 3/5. By handing them pie pieces that illustrated nine sixths, they were able to piece them together to visually SEE that it made ONE and ½. I encourage everyone to continue to point out fractions in daily life!

Science-Ms. Caroline and I walked the class over to the playground today, where they were able to see the topics that they are learning in their physics unit... in motion!  Ms. Caroline brought four different materials:  posterboard, a rubbery home plate, a trash bag, and a towel.  The kids took turns on the slide, sitting on each item and comparing the role that friction plays in their speeds.  After each child took turns on the items, they put them in order, from least amount of friction to most!  Ms. Caroline discussed how gravity and momentum makes us swing on a swing.  The class learned about air resistance, testing it out with two pieces of paper of equal sizes and weights, but one was wadded up into a ball!  Finally, the class demonstrated levers and center of gravity on the see-saw.

After our playground lesson, we returned to the schoolhouse to begin our Lego Activity.  I taught the class the different parts of a lever: the fulcrum/pivot point, the load/resistance arm, and the effort arm.  I also showed them how a cam works, so they can understand the role that it will play in their Lego Machine Project!  They began work on their level/cam Lego activity today, but they will not finish it until next week.  I can't wait to see it in action!

 Standardized Test Prep- We went over the practice sheets that students completed at home, discussing terms that caused some confusion, such as "biography" and "genre".  I used this time to give some tips for taking tests... make your best guess, use the process of elimination, and make sure to read ALL of the directions!  Also, I explained the the kids how the tests will be scored electronically.  This helped them to understand why they need to color in the bubbles on the sheet, carefully.  Many of them did not know that a computer would be scoring them... so they were unaware that simply circling the bubble would not count!  Although we are spending some time on practice tests, I am not worried about these children one bit.  I know they will do just fine!