We are beginning our last book of the year on Thursday. A Horse's Tale edited by Nancy Luenn will take the children through 100 years of adventure in Washington state. This ties nicely with our Social Studies unit on Washington and Puget Sound. The children will be comparing and contrasting different decades from the book.
If you haven't heard about our poetry writing, please ask your Beacon! The kids are very excited about writing different types of poems. Even the most reluctant writers are finding great success with this. In the last week, we have written color poems, poems about rules, a nonsense rhyming poem, shape poems, and couplets. We will be putting all of the poems together in a booklet once April is finished and will have a publishers' picnic at the end of the year to share all of our great work. Be sure to check out the pictures and poems below.
In math, our fraction unit is coming to a close. We will be testing on Friday. The students are having great discussions when coming up with strategies for comparing and ordering fractions, as well as finding equivalent fractions.
In Science, we are beginning our study of ecosystems. After a discussion about what an ecosystem is and how it works, the students will be creating their own ecosystem. They will need to create a food web and be able to discuss how the ecosystem works.
In Social Studies, we have begun looking at the history of Washington state. The students are reading information booklets and learning how to highlight the important information (without highlighting the entire sentence or paragraph). They are preparing topics for our Jeopardy game.
The students will be wearing some lovely newspaper hats for Earth Day on Friday. We will also be picking up trash around the school and neighborhood on Friday afternoon. The Beacons are excellent stewards of the Earth.
We made inkblot pictures with paint, then wrote a couplet poem that went with our pictures. What do you see? This is what we see, written in couplet form.
I have a paper body.
It has a brain and something dotty.
It has a tongue.
And something dumb.
I see nothing,
And I see something.
I know you are confused,
But I asked to be excused.
I found this but I don't know what it is.
I see the name and now I surely know it's his.
It is very colorful.
It is very wonderful.
I was watching the gliders,
When some galactic fighters
Zoomed through the sky!!!
Fly! Fly! Fly!
I saw some colorful rain.
Then they went into the drain.
But then the rain changed.
It was so strange.
I see something.
But I know it's nothing.
I know it's puffy.
I don't think it's a toughie.
I'm sorry this picture is really nothing.
Although I think it's something.
I really don't know what it is.
A mishmash, a hodgepodge, some sort of paintish fizz.
Smiley faces always looking at you.
And then it says boo.
It says it's sorry.
Then it goes on a safari.
The boxer fights for his sight.
The boxer fights for his right.
The boxer is going to kick.
It is going to be quick!
The gate is made out of a wall,
It will not fall,
It has ferns,
And it turns.
I see lots of colors in front of me.
A lot of colors I see.
I see yellow.
And it is mellow.
I see a butterfly in front of me.
I see it's with a honeybee!
A butterfly is on a flower.
It's so dirty it needs a shower!
Some wrestlers went to confess who is best,
They are wearing the same clothes and are really dressed.
They are really hairy on their chests,
They love the word crest.
I see the joker.
He is playing poker.
He's wearing brass
In a class.
Have a wonderful week!
