Wonderful Wednesday

This morning the students visited the media center. When they returned to class, we reviewed the idea of literal and non-literal language and then watched this video about metaphors and similes. After watching and discussing some key points from the video, we read a poem called, "The Myra Song" and identified the overall metaphor of the poem...comparing the girl to a song.

While I meet with small groups, the students will finish their storyboard planning sheet for their next writing piece and complete individual reading group assignments.

Sharks: We met and reviewed their beginning, middle and end pictures and sentences for Across the Railroad Tracks. For homework they need to use our discussion, the text AND their pictures to write a summary of the chapter. Some students MAY have gotten a start in class...regardless, they should all finish/read the summary to an adult for homework this evening.

In math we reviewed yesterday's whole group lesson. Then the children practiced using the Cuisemaire Rods to create fact families, independently. Just an aside, the students were reminded that the lesson was captured on Educreations and they could revisit the lesson.

I pulled a small group to extend their math knowledge. My group practiced identifying the LCM (least common multiple) of two numbers. Mrs,. Head worked with two groups. The first group practiced turning around division equations to make them into multiplication equations. The second group wrote multiplication equations to represent the area of a given rectangle.

All students have a worksheet for homework.

Following lunch and outdoor recess the students continued working independently while I met with more groups.

Cheetahs: Independently they identified text features in their new book and located the meaning of 3 vocabulary words. IN group we reviewed text features. Then we read the first section, pages 3-4, and used repeated words and phrases and topic sentences to identify the main idea. For homework they will read the next section, pages 5-7 and identify the main idea on the sticky note I provided.

Yellow Jackets:  The children read pages 4-7 and responded to two comprehension questions in their RRJ. (why is Rome called the eternal city and list 3 facts about the Roman Empire.)  For homework they need to read pages 8-12 and explain why aqueducts were so important, on a sticky note.

Snakes:  The children reread pages 2-7 independently.  In group we reviewed vocabulary from the text and then read pages 8-11.  For homework they need to reread pages 8-11 at least once (working on fluency) and retell what they read to an adult.

After our reading and writing block, I made some strategic desk moves in the classroom.  I'm pretty sure your child will share this news with you if it affected them!  :-)

Then we reviewed the concepts of natural (grass, trees, mountains, rivers, etc.) and human (road, school, traffic light, etc.) characteristics.  Please note that people and cars/trucks are NEITHER!