Volume 5: September 14, 2015

What a busy week, full of adventures and fun! Ms. Magda came in to help us with writing complete sentences in writers. Then, we revised and edited our drafts in peer conferences using this really cool thing call T-Tell them something you like A-Ask a question G-Give a suggestion (TAG). Students worked hard and completed their drafts. Now, we are publishing, or creating our final copies!

All week we have been working on using math vocabulary and practicing different strategies to mentally solve equations - all, of course, done through fun activities! Close to 100, 101-200 Bingo, How Many Steps? We are tackling symmetry in all its glory this and next week as well!

We've been building our community through our base groups (groups of 4 students sitting together). In our base groups we chose different learner attitudes to role-play, like empathy, cooperation, integrity, and enthusiasm. We also had some fun trying to make human chairs, human knots, and two on a crayon. Communication skills are key:)

Our week of UOI has been a full-on EXPEDITION of learning! We had TWO field trips: first to the bazaar and then Magnit supermarket. Along with connections to their farm field trip, students broadened their understanding about how food is distributed (shared), types of food people choose to eat, how food is grown and/or made (unprocessed vs. processed foods), and various challenges in sharing food around the world. We are exceptionally proud of our work creating a "factory to farm" food line, where we placed different foods on a line according to how close they are grown/made on a farm or in a factory. Our discussion included ideas like apple juice is just juice when its in an apple, but when you buy it from the supermarket in a box then it's more than just apple juice. They (factories) add preservatives, or chemicals, to the juice to make it last longer. This is a processed food and it isn't as healthy for us. Thanks, Xeoden and Elyer for sharing your cool ideas!

Did I mention we made butter as a Science experiment?! Oh, yeah. It was a shaking good time!

Enjoy the week!

Homework:

Monday: Addition & Subtraction Activity

Tuesday: Potluck and choice of what you’re doing

Wednesday: IXL Math Number Sense Activities Grade 4

Thursday: Addition & Subtraction Activity

Check out this week's learning photographs!

Two on a Crayon!

Human Knots

Morning Mania!

Let's make some butter! Shake, shake, shake!

From start to finish, the bazaar was amazing!

Human chairs!

Base groups role play the learner attitudes! Integrity!

Yup, we rock at Close to 100!

It's time for the final show-down:

Processed vs. Unprocessed Foods! 

At the end of the day, nothing is better than a piece of hot corn after a trip to the supermarket!