Research Thursday

This morning the students worked in small groups to read and extract appropriate information about the physical geography, the climate and the natural resources of the state they are researching. I floated from group to group providing guidance as needed.

In math, during our warm up, it became apparent that many students were struggling with finding the quotient for division problems. Therefore, we spent time practicing specific strategies (repeated subtraction and skip counting)on white boards. Then the students returned to their seats to use one of these strategies to complete a worksheet. This worksheet is to be finished tonight for homework.

Following art, lunch and outdoor recess, the students continues working in their small groups to complete their graphic organizers for their state.

After recess the students continued working in small groups, with my guidance, to add information to their graphic organizers. Towards the end of class, we gathered on the carpet and the students began sharing the information they had on their graphic organizer. As they did this, I asked probing questions to ensure their comprehension. When they were lacking clarity, they returned to the books to obtain more or better information. It was a great learning process for all.

We ended the day by finishing a science experiment we began in December! Today the students produced sound using different sized nails to check the predictions we made before break. We discovered the smaller nails created a higher pitch. We decided this was the case because a smaller nail could vibrate more per second than one that is larger.

I will be out of the building tomorrow. Therefore, there will not be a blog post.

Here's a quick overview of tomorrow:
The students will take the MAP-R. This is the computerized reading assessment that they take three times a year. They already took it in the fall. This will help guide my instruction and ensure they are all making growth.

After that, my math class will take a quiz. This will not be graded and sent home until Monday. Sorry!

Then the students will go to the media center, lunch and recess. When they return, Mrs. Howard will do a lesson about friendship with the class.

They will end the day by exploring how to make sound with rulers and predicting the sound they will hear and the vibrations they will see when the ruler extends different lengths over the edge of a desk.