The animals were all so happy to see the kids this morning! Everyone was fed, brushed, and loved before we began our class day. After a little "Farm News", which involved a tale of coyotes and a knocked down fence in the middle of the night, we began a lesson on turkeys. The class learned some "Turkey Terms", and they wrote them onto their sheet. They learned about toms, poults, caruncles, snoods, and all sorts of funny words! Hopefully they will be able to incorporate some of these into this week's writing assignment! 
Next, the class took turns reading their writing assignment on their favorite farm animals. We picked out sentences from them to discuss and review facts and opinions.
Art today was a complicated project for this age group! I explained that they did NOT have to attempt paper quilling unless they wanted to (I had another method available that involved less fine motor coordination), but each and every one of them insisted on it! First, they created the bodies of their tom turkeys. Then, they used actual quilling tools and quilling strips to add feathers. This is not easy for this age group, and they rocked it! We'll finish them up next week!
To review the parts of speech that we have learned so far, we brought out the lapboards! Although they may not be excited about writing down answers with pencils on paper, kids really enjoy writing with dry erase markers! I called out definitions and examples and the students wrote the correct answer on their boards. Once completed, they held them up high to check. I cannot recommend this method enough! It makes it fun! The kids then learned about linking verbs. We didn't discuss them very much, but we will work with them at home and talk about them in depth next week.
The class finished their chapter books! Our characters created water filters to filter water, constructed rafts using bamboo and vines, and made their way out of the jungle! We talked about the last section of the book and then made our way outdoors for a little raft-building competition! In our book, Carter had a paracord bracelet that he used often. I gave each team a length of paracord and a little "passenger" bear that would ride on their raft. They ventured out to gather sticks and set to work! This was really a team-building project. Working as a group, compromising, making a plan, and sharing responsibilities is a VERY important skill to cultivate. For some, things were rocky at first, but in the end they had worked with their teammates to create the finished project. We floated them on water and compared their strengths and weaknesses. Some floated well but had an uneven base. Some help together well but leaned, and some were absolutely beautiful but sunk! We talked about how the entire class as a whole would have made the perfect raft!
We wrapped up our study of Central America as the kids displayed and presented their country landscape pictures or writing assignments on the Panama Canal. Those who decided to research the canal absolutely blew me away with work they put in! We will be moving in South America over the course of the week. At home, they will be working on a coloring map activity so that we can more effectively talk about the locations of South American countries in class.
We continued our lesson on germs today. They learned about viruses last week, and we talked a little about bacteria today. I included a germ booklet in their science notebooks. This is an optional activity that would be good for those working on reading and writing. (There are also some good tips on staying healthy during cold and flu season!) The class will be learning more about bacteria in the upcoming week.
Let's keep hoping for good weather! So far, so good!
No comments:
Post a Comment