End of Wood, Paper, and Fabric & Snowmen

We finished our two week study of wood, paper, and fabric this past week.  In our classroom students had a chance to learn about sinking and floating.  They used paper clips and rubber bands to make small pieces of wood sink to the bottom of their water tubs.

 

 

In Mrs. Showalter's classroom this week students had a chance to tye die a piece of fabric.

 

 

Last week was all about snowmen!  We started the week by reading All You Need for a Snowman by Barbara Lavallee.  Then we worked together as a class to write a how-to-essay on building a snowman.

 

 

Next we read the story The Biggest, Best, Snowman by Margery Culyer.  Students then had lots of fun painting and creating their own snowmen.

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday we read the story of Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright.  In the story Sneezy is cold and keeps trying different ways to warm up -- that unfortunately end up melting him!

 

 

After reading the story we made our own melted snowmen and wrote about what caused them to melt.  Students came up with some very creative ideas including: going in lava, visiting the dessert, and having a run in with a ninja fire sword.

 

 

Finally, on Thursday we read Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner.  Afterwards students wrote about what their snowmen would do at night and then made the special projects below that are now on display in the hall outside of our classroom.

 

 

Our family traditions are also now hanging up in our classroom.  Students have had a lot of fun sharing with each other about the special things they do with their families!

 

 

Wood, Paper, & Fabric

All last week we learned about the properties of wood, paper, and fabric in science.  We've been working together with Mrs. Showalter's class and learning lots!

 

We started off the week by learning the names of and exploring different types of wood, paper, and fabric.



 

On Tuesday students worked on taking apart materials.  In our class students took apart cardboard boxes and put them pack together.  In Mrs. Showalter's class students took apart the warp and woof of a piece of fabric.

 

 

After taking materials apart on Tuesday we put materials together on Wednesday!  Students had a chance to make a small piece of plywood and then sorted items made from wood from those that were not made from wood.

 

 

 

They also had a chance to weave a piece of fabric in Mrs. Showalter's class.

 

 

On Thursday students made a piece of recycled paper and made paper boxes with 6th grade helpers.

 

 

On Friday students had a chance to practice staining and washing a piece of fabric.  They found they were able to get the ketchup stain out using soap -- but not the mustard stain!

 

Polar Regions, Making 5, & Computer Coding

This week we've been learning all about polar animals.  On Monday we started learning about the specific animals that live in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.  On Tuesday morning students worked to sort polar animals into the correct regions.

In the afternoon on Tuesday we began learning more specifically about polar bears.  We started by reading a non-fiction article and then highlighting important information in order to prove our answers to the comprehension questions.

Then students worked together with a partner to label the different parts of a polar bear.

On Wednesday we worked together as a class to brainstorm a list of things that polar bears can do, have, and are.

Later in the day students worked with a partner to create polar bear fact notecards.

Finally we used all the information we had gathered to write non-fiction pieces about polar bears.  Here's a few samples of the work students did.

On Thursday students completed their projects by making special polar bears to hold their writing.  The projects are now on display out in the hallway.

In the afternoon on Thursday we started learning about penguins.  We read several non-fiction books and then followed directions to draw and label our own penguins.

In math we have been learning about making and taking apart numbers.  On Tuesday students used dobber markers to create different combinations to make 5.

In library this week students had a chance to practice their computer coding skills in library with Ms. Zbacnik.  They had learned a lot while having lots of fun!

Letter A, Counting by 10s, & Agate

We just finished up our unit on apples on Friday.  Students did a great job and learned a lot.  Hopefully they were able to share their apple books with you!  This is our new apple bulletin board.

This past week we also learned that vowels include: a, e, i, o, u.  We also learned that vowels can make a short sound and a long sound.  On Tuesday we worked together as a class to complete the worksheet below.

Then we sorted short and long A words on the Smartboard.

Lastly, students worked together with a partner to sort short and long A words on their own.

In math we have been practicing counting by 10s.  On Wednesday students had a chance to work together with their table group to build 10s pyramids.

 

We ended the week by reading the story Agate by Joy Morgan Dey.  We spent time talking about the lesson Agate the moose learned in the story that each and everyone of us is special!

 

 

Then students painted their own self-portraits with watercolors just like the ones in the book.

 

Their portraits turned out awesome!