The last week of May

Language Arts

In Language Arts students are working on identifying the various types of figurative language.  This week students will learn about similes, metaphors, and personification.  

 

Students are exploring poems in which poets use figurative language.  Students are learning that the poets use inferences and imagery in their poetry. Using figurative language adds interest, awakens the reader's imagination, and conveys meaning in a more specific way. Students will work together to discuss, digest, analyze and interpret a variety of poems containing various types of figurative language. For example, the students will discuss the imagery and figurative language used by the poet in the following poem.


           

  

Dragonfly

By Rebecca Kai Doylich

This sky-ballerina,

this glimmering

jewel,

glides in a gown

of lucid blue –

with wings that you

could whisper through.

 

 

Students are encouraged to read poems independently, write the poems they enjoy and offer their interpretation of the various techniques used by the poet.

 

                                   

 

Students learned to turn a piece of narrative into a free verse poem. The lesson emphasized the most important part of writing a free verse poem was making sure the reader understands what the poet is trying to say and the meaning is clear. Additionally they must use descriptive words so the reader can understand the poet's point of view.  The following is the narrative piece which students modified into a free verse poem:

 

I remember when I was at the park with my little sister. 

Normally we would fight a lot.  One of us always wanted to

get on the slide first.  But this one time, my sister saw a

worm.  “Look,” she said, “it’s like a jungle snake.”  I went

over. “Ahh! A snake! Oh, no!” I said and pretended I was

afraid.  That is when she grabbed my hand and said, “I’ll

save you.” I looked at her and smiled. I was really happy

she was my sister.

 

Students determined where to break each line in the narrative and then they decided as a class which words were critical to the meaning of the poem. The results are below.

               

  

Narrative                                                    Free Verse Poem

I remember when                                          I remember

I was at the                                                      the park.

with my little sister.                                        My sister and I

Normally                                                          fight like cats and dogs.

we would fight                                               Racing to be first

a lot.                                                                On the slide.

One of us                                                        My sister yelled,

 always wanted                                            “a worm      

to get                                                             Like a jungle snake.”

on the slide first.                                         I ran over

But                                                                 pretending  

this one time,                                             “Ah, A snake,”

my sister                                                       I screamed.

saw a worm.                                                Squeezing my hand,

“Look,”                                                          she said,

she said,                                                        “I’ll save you.”

“it’s like a jungle snake.”                            Smiling,

I went over.                                                  Happy,

 “Ahh!                                                            for my sister.

A snake!

Oh, no!”

I said

and pretended

I was afraid.

That is

 When she grabbed

my hand

and said,

“I’ll save you.”

I looked at her

and smiled.

I was

really happy

she was

 my sister.

 

 

Math

 

This week students will continue working on addition and subtraction of three digit numbers.  Students will break numbers apart and change numbers.  For example, the equation

623 + 249 can be broken down as follows:

 

600 + 200 = 800

20 + 40      =   60

3 + 9           =    12

 

800 + 60 + 12 = 872

 

When students use the technique and change the numbers for this same equation, this might be one way to do this:  

 

249 + 1 = 250

623 + 250 = 873

873 - 1 = 872

Students will learn to play the game, Collections Match.  In this game students will practice solving multi-digit addition problems.

 

 

 

 

 

Science

 

Students will begin their study of plants. Students will learn about the parts of a seed.

 

 

 

They will plant the seed from a Brassica plant which is a fast growing plant.  As they observe and record information about their plant they will learn about the life cycle of this plant from seed to seed.

 

                

 

 

 

 

"Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”

 
― Margaret Mead

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Week of May 19

Language Arts

Students are continuing their study of poetry.  The focus this week will be on distinguishing literal and figurative writing.

               

Students will listen to and read books about Amelia Bedelia.  Amelia Bedelia interprets everything that is said to her literally.  Students will examine phrases from books and decide the nonliteral meaning. 

 

               

From this point, students will read poetry and discern figurative language.  Students will review similes, metaphors and personification.  As poetry is read, students will identify these various types of figurative language.

 

 






In conjunction with the reading of poetry, students will undertake writing a free verse poem.  Free verse does not rhyme nor does it have a regular rhythm.  The poet creates the rules and determines how the poem looks, sounds and what it means. Students will brainstorm ideas that they would like to write about and pick one idea before they undertake this assignment.


               




Social Studies




               


Students are studying about the history of South Windsor.  They will travel to Old Main Street this week to view various historic sites, such as the Bissell Ferry Farm, the one room schoolhouse, and God's Acre Cemetery.  Students have transferred their knowledge regarding the big ideas of Native Americans to the South Windsor colonists. These settlers had to use everything in their environment to survive and their lives were hard. 



Bissell Ferry Farm




     
        One Room Schoolhouse




Math


Students finished the Muffles Truffles unit in math.  The next unit focuses on the operations of addition and subtraction using 2 and 3 digit numbers.  The students will use their understanding of the base ten structure to examine numbers to 1000.


           






             

MAY

Language Arts

Students are immersed in reading poetry. Students have come to understand that poems evoke feelings from the reader.  As a result, students have determined the mood of various poems.

               



Additionally, students realize the poem projects a point of view.  Students read poems daily and respond to a specific concept being taught. 





Students will discuss how stanzas are the equivalent of paragraphs.  The word "stanza" means room in Italian. The students will be offered this analogy. Each stanza is like a room in a house. Each stanza has an idea and all the stanzas collectively are related.


                       

Students will discuss the relationship of stanzas to the main idea of the poem. They will learn how a poet connects his ideas when writing poetry.

Writing

Students have completed the opinion writing pieces.  Below are some samples of student work.

                                                    

Space

By Nathan

 

Everyone should go to space. I want to go because I want to be one of the astronauts who will test the new technology that NASA has developed.  I want to explore distance planets too.  I also want to live in a space station, but first I have to learn about it.

First by going into space I will test new technology. Here’s what I’m going to test.  The first spacecraft I’m going to test is one that has an electric engine.  It is going to be used for the smart – 1 mission to the moon.  It slowly increases its speed until it is traveling many times faster than a chemical rocket.  Another spacecraft is one that has huge sails like on a sailboat.  The sails catch the solar winds of the sun and can whisk the spacecraft to other stars and planets. Next I am going to tell you about something that won’t be invented until later in time.  This spacecraft can travel at warp speed.  If you don’t know what that is it is traveling faster than the speed of light. That’s just some of the technology I want to test.

I also want to explore distant planets, like Mars.  Mars is the first planet NASA is going to try to colonize. Before they can colonize Mars, they have to prove that they can get someone on Mars.  First they have to learn about Mars with rovers.  Then they can make the rocket. Since the trip to Mars is six months, the rocket has to be big.  So big that they have to make it in space just like a space station.  It will have either the sails or an electric engine. NASA has found out that 3D printers can make a full meal in minutes so that astronauts will not have to worry about food on such a long trip. That’s how NASA is trying to get a person on Mars.

Since I want to live in a space station I need to learn about them. Here’s my research so far. To keep healthy astronauts have to exercise on special equipment every day for two hours.  For food, they pick out of 100 items.  Then a rocket from earth shows up with their food.  The only catch with the menu is they have to eat 200 calories a day due to weightlessness.  Finally the beds are on the walls! You have to be strapped to your bed because with weightlessness. Otherwise, you would float away. That’s my research so far on living in a space station.

These are some reasons to go into space.  We could test new technology. Then we could explore distant planets and finally find out what it would be like to live in a space station.

                                          

                                                                 Arctic

                                                              By Hailey

Wouldn’t you want to go to the Arctic with me? Global warming is melting the Arctic. The government needs help to stop oil and gas drilling where the polar bears live. My last reason is polar bears may be the first species lost to global warming. 

Global warming is causing the Artic to melt. Polar bears have to swim farther because global warming is melting the ice.  Polar bears are getting weaker because they don’t have the right amount of fat.  The polar bears are drowning because global warming is melting the ice floes.  I can tell people about global warming and that the polar bear’s ice is melting.  This could keep them from dying.

Another reason is to help the government stop oil and gas drilling where the polar bears live.  Polar bears are dying because oil and gas are polluting the seas.  If there was an oil spill it could lead to a lot of animals dying. Polar bears and sea creatures would be hurt by this.  Oil and gas can kill animals, especially the polar bears because it can get on their skin and food and this would kill them.

The last reason to go to the Arctic is that polar bears may be the first species lost to global warming.  This might happen because the Arctic is getting warmer and the polar bears habitat is being ruined.  We need to stop global warming so polar bears can continue to hunt seals, which are also dying out too.  These animals can become extinct. The government needs to make laws to protect the Arctic and stop global warming.

We need to help save the polar bears. The Arctic is melting because of global warming.  We need to save the polar bear’s environment.  Polar bears will die because oil and gas are polluting the seas.

 

Students are using the 2 x 5 array to build larger arrays from this model.  Students will be given a scenario that Muffles' assistant, Patricio, needs to put the 2 x 5 boxes together to make new larger boxes of truffles.   From this model some students can double it and develop the equation (2x5) + (2x5) or 4x5 = (2x2) x 5 = 2 x (2x5) or (2x5) + x5) = 2x 10 = 10 + 10 = 20. 

Students are continuing to conduct experiments on minerals.  They have learned that minerals can be identified by performing the light test.  This test entails understanding the terms, opaque, transparent and translucent.  Students determine which minerals have this property.  Students also discovered the property of luster and minerals can be dull, waxy, glassy or metallic.  Then these young scientists will examine the minerals for crystals.