October News
Something told the wild geese
It was time to go
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered snow...
by Rachel Field
Glorious October has arrived, and 4T is combining science with poetry. Instinct, of course, is
telling the wild geese to migrate. We've finished discussing scientific methods and have started
biology, plants and animals. These are always favorite chapters, and there's also opportunities
for extra credit as students can bring in pertinent objects fr
o
m nature. Tomorrow we'll be drawing and learning the parts of a flower. Tuesday we'll be
shaking pine cones to find the seeds inside and looking at the spores on ferns under
microscopes.
Math finds us learning the properties of addition: associative, commutative, and identity. We'll
be going through this chapter rather quickly because adding is not a new skill. I'll be injecting
some simple decimals into the addition examples to teach new concepts. We'll be doing a little
pre-algebra as we search for variables and set up mathematical expressions. I'm trying to
develop a strong math sense.
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October News
In reading Because of Winn-Dixie is proving to be a popular book with the students. We read
it together, students read it silently, they read with a peer and answer questions about the story
and the very unique characters. Sometimes they write a piece in their literature-response
journal.
Our first book report will be explained this week; it's a traditional report of an historical fiction or
realistic fiction chapter book. I've put it off a little because I wanted to really focus on Because of
Winn-Dixie
.
I can give suggestions for books, as can Mrs. Noon.
In religion we've talked about kinds of sin, free will, and conscience. We're also studying
parables,
practicing retelling them and discussing the meaning. The Good
Samaritan: help others. The Prodigal Son:
God
always forgives.
In English the students are grappling with parts of speech, direct object, and subject
complements. They are learning diagramming, which I hope will help them understand the parts
of a sentence. We're still working on personal narratives aiming for clarity and sentence
structure. They tell great stories.
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October News
First field trip is coming up October 11th to the Little Red Schoolhouse, a fun event. I won't say
more
and spoil the fun, but the kids always love it,
experiencing what it was like in school 100 years ago.
Until next time...
Mrs. T
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