Keeping Busy in the Cold!

We are keeping warm and busy in our classroom during this cold winter weather!  Third quarter has begun and we are utilizing some new technology, working together on some group projects, and learning, learning, learning.  😊

Today we started the DARE Program with Mille Lacs County Investigator, Jason Gallion.  It was a very exciting day for our class!  Students were put into groups and will be competing for points throughout the 10 to 12 week program.  We will be having DARE classes each Tuesday.  A Student Participation Letter was handed out for students to bring home today.  Please sign and return these letters for Investigator Gallion before our next class.  Each week students will receive "homework" to be completed with parents and returned the next week.  Points will be given for completed and signed work. 

  Valentine's Day is fast approaching and we will be discussing Valentine's boxes in class this week.  Students are welcome to design a box to bring in for Valentines.  It should be no bigger than an 18" square cube. Each year we display our boxes and vote on the best in several different categories.  Please do not have students bring boxes into the classroom until February 14.  We will have a small party that afternoon to celebrate and exchange Valentines.  There are 19 students in our class this year.


What else are we up to?

• In Science we are working on a final project to wrap up our Life Science Unit.  Students are working in groups to design a PowToon presentation describing a specific organism and its ecosystem.  Learning to design PowToons has been an engaging experience and students are enjoying it.
• In Reading we are reading the novel Inside Out And Back Again by Thannha Lai.  We are learning about refugees and gaining an understanding of what they go through when they flee their homes and end up in new places.
• In English we are publishing our Top Secret Rule Writing and moving on to writing a persuasive essay.

I hope you are keeping warm and staying safe in this crazy Minnesota weather.  If you have any questions about what is happening in our classroom, please feel free to contact me.  Have a great week!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

It was nice to see everyone during conferences in November and spend some time looking at the progress your kids are making.  I hope everyone had a good time celebrating Thanksgiving with their families.  It is hard to believe we are approaching Christmas break!  

In our classroom, students worked hard during November to learn our songs and parts for the Christmas County Spelling Bee.  The program was a success and I think the students enjoyed it.  We have some very talented students in our classroom and it is so much fun to see them growing and using the gifts and talents that God has given them.

With our Christmas party coming up, we will be drawing names this week for secret pals to exchange gifts with.  This year we will be exchanging one gift on the day of our party.  The price should be $5-$10.  Please have students bring their gifts to exchange on the day of our party, December 20th.

What have we been doing?

• Reading:  We finished reading the novel Mississippi Bridge and students completed a story mapping project.  We then went on to look at six different accounts of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Students analyzed the accounts and how they were similar and different depending on the author's perspective of the event.  During the next couple of weeks before break, we will be working on stories in our reading curriculum.
•   English/Writing:  We finished our study of Adjectives and Adverbs.  Now we are learning about Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases.  We read the book The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups which tells us about the REAL reason we have rules such as "Eat your vegetables!"
  
  Students are currently working on writing reasons for their own top secret rules.
• Science:  We completed a research project on Big Cats and Their Habitats.  Each student chose a big cat to learn about and then created a Google Slide presentation to tell about their subject.  We are still working on Life Science and looking at unique features of living things and their habitats. 
• Health:  During November we had Music instead of Health so that we could focus on learning our songs for the Christmas Musical.  Now we will be going back to our unit on Digital Citizenship and will be learning safety with online contacts and friends.  We are using resources found at Common Sense Education

Have a great week!