Math:
The Marionettes started the week with a lesson on subtracting integers using an algorithm. They then moved on to multiplication and division of integers. This completes their integer operations unit. Next week we will be reviewing and taking a check in.
The Saplings talked about percentages this week. They worked on application problems where they had to find either the percent, the part, or the whole using proportions.
The Vroomshrooms are still working with linear equations. They learned how to find the equation and graph lines given a slope and a point, and only given two points.
Thursday was Teacher Swap! I spent the morning downstairs teaching the gammas all about pi, while Ms. Lorrie came upstairs to teach the Saplings and Vroomshrooms about surface area of spheres. It was a fun treat!
ELA:
We kicked off the week by reflecting on the Twilight Zone episode script we read last week: ”The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” Students were asked to think and write about the narrator’s last line, suspicion can destroy and fear can kill. Do you agree or disagree? Give specific examples. After this journal quick write, we discussed our thoughts. The students were quick to recognize how this statement is connected to our world.
Tuesday we read another science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov called “The Fun They Had.” In the story a couple of kids from 2155 find a book and puzzle over what it is and why anyone would use such a thing. Before evaluating the story for elements of each genre, we talked about obsolete technology, a time they found something outdated, and how someone explained its use to them. Partners went on to analyze the story further: cite text evidence that reveals how the main character changed; how does the setting affect the plot?
Throughout the week students also learned about point of view in literature. Did you know there are three different types of 3rd person? (That’s written in 2nd person!) We also continued identifying the connotations of words and how they set the mood and tone of a story.
“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man…” To end our week, we examined the introduction to “The Twilight Zone.” Students unpacked this paragraph of text by defining and clarifying unknown words, finding positive and negative words, uncovering relationships between those words, and identifying the mood and tone of the passage. Naturally we changed the mood and created a parody by replacing words and phrases–MadLib style! Each class is still working on their combined effort, but so far the Marionettes are in the Garbage Zone while Saplings are in the IKEA Zone and the Vroomshrooms are in the Shrek Zone.
Theme:
“I’m George McFly, I’m your density!” It was a classic line from the beloved movie Back to the Future, and it provided a basis for our new Chemistry topic this week.
Students began the week by finishing their projects on States of Matter. The Vroomshrooms continued crafting their animation projects, laying down music tracks and using scratch programming to show the phase changes in matter. The Saplings finished and displayed their Matter Matters banners in the hallway, while the Marionettes finished up their lab reports on their Oobleck projects. Be on the look out for some Oobleck during our PoP celebration in December!
Density was the topic of the week. Students started by learning how a substances’ mass related to its volume to determine its density, and continued to analyze the concept through math calculations to find density in solids and liquids.
Our weekly lab experiment focused on density and buoyancy. Students released several pieces of fruit into a tank of water to test whether it sank or floated. THey were amazed to see that many of large and heavier fruits would float while the smaller, lighter fruits like grapes ane cherries actually sank like stones. The results helped them to see first that in density, size never matters, and that the test was not about comparing the weight of the foods against each other, but the density of the foods relative to the density of the water. By applying Archemedis’ Principle, they could understand how large, heavy items still float, like large ships.
We finished the week by learning about Scientific Models, and created models to report the results of our Density lab. Look for them in our Theme hallway this week!
Marionettes enjoy a little free play by testing their density after our lunch period this week.
Theme students work on their Matter projects, at top, on their computers, and above on their Matter Matters banners.
The Density lab allowed students to apply their learning of density as the experimented with different fruits, including bananas, at top, and apples
Above, the Vroomshrooms watch as a coconut sank to the bottom of the tank, while the Marionettes compared the mass of different objects during their lab time.
Ms. Lorrie and Ms. Amanda swapped classes on Thursday.
Marionettes respond to a quick write prompt in their journals.
Vroomshrooms figure out the mood of a passage based on the connotation of the words.
Saplings combine efforts to find synonyms for a Twilight Zone parody.
