Our filed trip to the Natural History Museum was marvelous! It began with a tour of the animals whose habitat is Ohio including coyotes, the bald eagle and otters. Then, we had a class that taught us what animals need in a habitat, what animals eat and what adaptations animals make. We got an up close look at an owl, possum and a snake! It ended with exploring the museum including crystals & gems, an earthquake machine, Balto and the DINOSAURS! What a great ending to our habitat unit! Students started sharing their presentations in class this week. Also, we started making a diorama using shoe boxes (thanks for those who donated). Next week, we start our final science unit of the year- weather!
This week's math mini lessons included geometry concepts. We focused on naming and drawing shapes by the sides, vertices and angles. Students learned that a right angle is 90 degrees and a square can fit in the corner. Polygon, plane shape and quadrilateral were other new vocabulary words. Next week, we will discuss three dimensional shapes. Student also took the Topic 10 Assessment and did extremely well. One commonly missed problem was the 2 step story problem where students solved for the unknown but THEN needed to add that number to the other to find the total. We will continue with geometry next week and introduce Topic 11- Subtracting Within 1,000 Using Models & Strategies. These strategies include counting back and adding up on an open number line, and subtracting mentally, using compensation. Your child will explain why a particular subtraction strategy works. He or she will also learn to model three-digit subtraction using tools.
Our new grammar topic is adjectives- words that describe nouns. We had a thing- Popsicle which we described using adjectives. We wrapped up the essential question about Earth's resources and started Unit 6. This week our stories are answering what do myths help us understand?
Students worked very hard on their Reading MAP assessment this week. Thursday, May 3rd, we will take the final test- Math MAPs. These results will be included in the final report card of the year.
Next week is already our last month of the year!?!?
Enjoy the weather!
Marissa Wilhelm
