Week of October 28, 2013
Language Arts
Last week students completed the performance assessment for Unit 1 in Language Arts. Each reading group performed a skit based on a chapter in the book they read. As the students performed their skits, the audience (the rest of the class) was expected to identify the character trait of the main character in the skit as well as the character's feelings, an action, and a motive connected to the character's action. Students were excited to perform the skit and everyone enjoyed the opportunity that this experience afforded them.
This week students will start another set of books that relate to our Native American Unit in social studies. Students will transfer their knowledge learned about characters, character's feelings, actions, and motives to undertake a new endeavor. The students will apply their background knowledge to more complex characters.
In addition, the next unit in Language Arts is a nonfiction unit in which students will learn about nonfiction conventions and main idea and details. Students will read a variety of nonfiction texts including books about the Wampanoag and other Native Americans.
Math
In math, students are learning to solve addition problems with 2 and 3 digit numbers by breaking numbers apart and recombining them. For example, 65 + 35 = 100 can be interpreted as follows:
60 + 30 = 90
5 + 5 = 10 so 90 + 10 = 100
Another strategy students might use for this problem is:
65 + 30 = 95
95 + 5 = 100
Students may also choose a number line to solve this problem. Below is a You Tube video relating this strategy.
Social Studies
In our Wampanoag Native American Unit, students have formed families and assumed the roles of various members of a family. Students created puppets to visualize their identity in their family.
Next, students will write a character sketch about their Native American puppet expressing their knowledge learned about the way of life of the Wampanoag people.
