Keep reading for level 3 announcements, an overview of our learning for the previous week and a preview of next week! Please remember that reading these weekly updates is a great way to connect with your student, and can even earn them some bonus points, if they write down the secret word for Tuesday!
Announcements:
- For this Tuesday's (10/12) Out and About , we will be walking to the Boxer Gardens. This Out and About involves a fair amount of walking out in the chilly fall air, please remind your student about wearing layers on this day!
- This Thursday (10/14) is picture day! Please spend some time between now and then talking with your child about whether or not they will be taking their photo with a mask- this decision is entirely up to your family. Photos will be taken outside.
- This Friday (10/15) is a grading day. This means no school for students.
Project
In project last week, we looked at the nature principles "nature maintains balance" and "nature favors diversity". We looked closely at the impact of different farming practices and engaged in thinking about monoculture (*secret word*) farming and the use of pesticides. Our Out and About in the backyard garden supported this thinking as students engaged in a simulation game that demonstrated the impacts of IPM - Integrated Pest Management.
Ask your student about their thoughts on best farming practices- what would their ideal farm look like?
Next week in project, we will be looking at the nature principle "nature relies on local expertise". With this, we will be talking about sustainability and how decisions at the local level can have big impacts on regional and global sustainability. Our Out and About at the Boxer Gardens will focus on this nature principle in tandem with our other nature principles in the context of our local community.
Literacy
Last week in literacy, the Merlins began their second read of Love that Dog. With this, students began engaging in book clubs in which they came together to discuss a quote that they chose from the book. For this, we thought about how the first person point of view affects the storyline of Love that Dog. We also began reading a new student-choice book - Pax - during read-aloud. We also continued to write poems as a class, and typed up our important poems about our partners.
Ask your student whether they prefer the first or third person voice when reading a story.
In literacy next week, students will finish their second read of Love that Dog. Students will think about the author's purpose and the theme of Love that Dog and will continue discussing the book with their book clubs. For writing next week, we will begin exploring different types of poetry, like Haiku, Limerick, and Acrostics.
5th Grade Math
Last week in 5th grade math, students took the decimal mid module assessment. This provided me with a lot of information about areas in this unit that students are understanding and areas in which we need to spend some more time in. Going forward, our unit will be a mix of continuing to work on our foundational math skills, reengaging with the math topics that were tricky at the start of this unit and continuing forward with the decimal unit. Next week we will take another look at rounding decimal numbers and continue forward with learning how to add and subtract decimal numbers.
Take some time to ask your student about how they are feeling about their multiplication math facts. Would your student benefit from some multiplication flashcards? I would be happy to get some printed and send these home!
6th Grade Math
This week 6th graders worked on ratio story problems with change over time.
Ask your student to come up with a ratio story problem that involves change over time to tell you about their year so far!