Students have been working hard on their Academic Fair projects and we started the first quarter by reviewing what goes into a quality research report. The end of February brings an exciting new unit on writing an autobiographical narrative. Students will work through a writing packet, brainstorming ideas as they recall childhood or recent memories. Those memories can be funny, exciting, or sad. We’ve had a great time sharing those memories aloud in class as we work on the prewriting stage! We will be writing the rough draft the end of February and the final project will be due in March.
Mrs. Candelier & Mrs. Foster
The students just began their second half of senior year by starting Economics. We discussed the fundamentals of economics and how an understanding is so vital to being a citizen in America. After this section the students began a section on one of the most important pieces of economics, money. We have discussed some of the various characteristics that money has, (portability, divisibility, etc.). As an example, I brought in money that I had acquired while traveling abroad; this was a great opportunity for the students to observe what other countries currencies look like. As a project to illustrate their understanding of this topic, each student is designing their own money. They have to explain the various characteristics of their money and then illustrate what their money looks like either through a detailed drawing or a physical representation of the money.
Mr. Fowler
The students have been discussing the Industrial Revolution to start off the second half of the year. They learned what the causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution were. We had quite a few classroom discussions about how life is so different today because of the advancements made during this time period. Students looked at primary documents from people who lived during this time period and we discussed the feelings and hardships that these people experienced. As a summative assessment the students had to write their own newspaper. In the newspaper they all had to write why the Industrial Revolution is considered a revolution, but then they got the chance to choose from four other creative writing assignments to add to their newspaper. The students got to show a bit of creativity and originality while at the same time still displaying their understanding of this time period.
Mr. Fowler
The students began the semester off returning back to Ancient Asia. Ancient China is a wonderfully exciting topic as it is so rich in culture and history. Once again due to my travels in China, in the summer of 2007, I have been able to infuse my own personal accounts of China and my travels there into our discussions. In addition, we looked over pictures and artifacts which I had acquired while I was abroad. The students seem to enjoy hearing personal accounts and are very eager to learn more about this foreign culture. As an assignment, I had the students make their own mock journal diary of Marco Polo. They had to pretend as if they had discovered some foreign city and culture; some students have quite the imagination.
Mr. Fowler
We have been reading a book titled, “…If You Lived 100 Years Ago,” by Ann McGovern with the third grade class. They were impressed to find out that if they had lived a hundred years ago they wouldn’t have gotten a chance to eat Pizza, Potato Chips, French Fries, and Frozen Foods. We read about how they did not even know what a TV was not to mention a computer, a movie, or an airplane, during that time period. We also read about how people lived in tenements and under what type of conditions they lived there. We will continue to read this to learn about how technology has changed our world.
Mrs. Ruiz
2B has continued to enjoy the privilege of borrowing Christian books from our Library. I am blessed every time I meet with them because they love to borrow Bibles and devotionals and they keep on borrowing and re- borrowing them. It is truly a blessing to see their hunger and thirst for the Word of God. In the library we also read devotions. This week we read a book about self-control and what the Bible tells us about it. It is wonderful to see how engaged they become with this type of reading.
Mrs. Ruiz
The first graders have continued to borrow books from the Library for their academic fair projects on community helpers. We read the story of “The Empty Pot” by Demi. They enjoyed learning about this character-building story, which teaches them to be honest even though it may be hard,and in the end they will be rewarded for their honesty.
Mrs. Ruiz
KV read “If you give a Cat a Cupcake” by Laura Numeroff, and had a great time listening to the story. After reading, they also made their own little cat masks. It was wonderful to see their unique creations.
Mrs. Ruiz
After finishing volcanoes and watching live footage of volcanic eruptions, we have settled back down to the Earth. We are now taking a closer look at weathering and soil erosion. Now that the students have a great understanding of how our Earth’s surface can be destroyed, and we are digging deeper to see exactly what is happening to the soil when destruction occurs.
Miss Lawrence
We have just started the exciting unit of the human body! Students will have many opportunities to get “hands on” during this unit as we discover the different parts of the human body, as well as how each part works to make our body function. I am excited for our students to see their creative sides and fill the classroom with neat diagrams and replicas of the human body and all it’s parts!
Miss Lawrence