Miss Furgal’s Jungle Journal…
May 8, 2017
Superkids
This week students practiced reading contractions
formed with is, am, are, and will. Students were taught
to decode long-vowel tricker words when reading,
how
by first trying the short vowel sound and then trying
the long vowel sound (to see which forms an actual
word and which makes more sense). As a class we
discussed our experiences visiting amusement parks,
and students made predictions in their workbooks
about a Superkids story that they are going to read
next week.
Students completed activities in their Superkids
workbooks to help them recall important details from
the story they read called “A Super Day at Happy
Land.” Students also filled in the missing contraction
words in sentences (captions), to match them
appropriately with their pictures.
During Guided Reading this week, students read a
story called “A Super Day at Happy Land.” We talked
about what picture captions were, and we discussed
different idioms from the story, (ex. lickity split and
itty-bitty). I monitored student’s understanding of the
text by asking comprehension questions while they
were reading. Students were reminded to observe
punctuation and use typographical clues while reading,
to sound more fluent and expressive. Students
answered questions about the story after they read it
a few times, in their Superkids workbooks.
Students identified synonyms for different words
during an activity in their Superkids workbook, to help
them further their vocabulary.
Everyday Math
This week we reviewed fractions and students participated
in an exploration of dividing regions into equal parts.
Students were introduced to fraction notation for unit
fractions, and explored the idea that fractional parts of a
whole must be equal. They were also introduced to finding
fractional parts of different coin collections. The children
worked with different collections of pennies to find the
specific fractional parts of each number of pennies.
Students took their Unit 8 Math Test on Wednesday,
5/3/17. Graded tests were sent home the same day. If
you haven’t already done so, please review the test with
your child, sign and send it back in their binder. Thank
you :)
Students began studying Unit 9 concepts in Everyday Math
this week, including: a review of place-value patterns for
counting by 1s and 10s on a number grid, and mentally
adding and subtracting multiples of 10. Fraction concepts
in Unit 9 will be extended and students will be introduced to
the concept of equivalent fractions.
Students began the week off by reviewing tens and ones
patterns on the number grid, and practiced using them to
solve number grid problems. Students were provided with
activities for counting by 1s and 10s on parts of a 100s
grid. The students worked as a class to name hidden
numbers on the number grid, and then students worked
with partners to practice filling in missing numbers on a
hundreds grid. Students also played the Number-Grid
Game with one another, to practice adding/subtracting 2digit numbers by 10s and 1s mentally on their number grids.
STEAM/SCIENCE
Students will take their Unit 3 - More Adventures of
the Superkids Spelling Test on Tuesday, 5/9/17.
The students began building their (Alligator) We-Do Lego
th
Robotics in the STEM lab this week, with the help of a few 8
grade buddies. Next week they will begin programming their
robots on the computers. They are having so much fun with
this! Check out the photos I added online. :)
Writing - Poetry
The Poetry Slam was a success! The kids did such a great
job getting up in front of all the kids in the Lower school to
recite their memorized poems. :)
We continued learning about poetry and exploring
different kinds of poems this week in writing. This
week students worked on “I Am…” poems. They did
a really great job with this! They also practiced
reciting their Poetry Slam poems for each other
throughout the group. –Their practice definitely
paid off and they did a great job at the Slam. :)
We continued our new science unit on “Plants” this week. We
reviewed the different parts of a seed, and then moved on to
learn all about the parts of a plant. We talked about the roles
and jobs of each part of the plant: roots, stem, leaves,
flower, fruit /veggie. Students labeled and colored the parts
of a plant. We also talked about why plants are important to
our world and us.