Great, Greater, Greatest

Our spelling test last week asked us if we could identify the only man-made structure that could be seen from space. Here are some other clues they gave us about it:

*A million workers built it over the course of two thousand years
*It was made with strong stones compacted tightly with soft soil made into mortar
*It is thirty feet high, twenty eight feet wide, and its length is over 3,600 miles long


Other questions they asked were:
*What is this wall like blockade?
*What was the reason for its construction?
*Was its purpose to keep people in or out?

Tell Me About You

This is a chance for you to tell me something about yourself that is happening outside of school. Sometimes we get so busy we don't have time to just chat. I look forward to hearing something new about you :)

Inferring

In our literacy mini lessons, we have been using poetry and fiction text to make inferences about what the author is trying to tell us. Below is a section of text taken from the Dr. Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll Go". Please tell me what you are inferring from this passage.

"You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there." With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street."

Read Across America Day

Thursday is Read Across America Day. In honor of this day, tell me about your favorite book, author, or character and why they are your favorite.

Jesse Owens

Last week in literacy we read about the very famous Jesse Owens. Tell me why he was so well known, and also tell me why the photo of him shaking hands with Lutz Long, the popular German jumper in the 1936 olypics was such a big deal.

Happenstance Found

We finished Hatchet and have moved on to a new read aloud book called "Happenstance Found" We are at the very beginning, so tell me what you know about the characters so far and make a prediction for what is going to happen in the story.

Smarty Pants Day

We finished Hatchet!

We finally finished our read aloud book Hatchet. Tell me how you felt about the ending of the story. Was it what you expected? Also, what would you have done if you were Brian and stranded in the wilderness?

Crazy Weather!

Wow! Last week was a bit crazy! Snow, wind, ice, and power outages kept us from coming to school. Please share how this weather affected you and you family.

Persuasive Writing

We have started to study a new genre in writing called Persuasive Writing. Tell me how you could use persuasion in your own life to convince someone to do something.

Harry Houdini

For the last couple of days, we have been reading about Harry Houdini and his career as a magician. Please use the internet as a resource to read more about Harry Houdini. Tell me one or two facts about his life that you have not already learned from the book we've read.

Hatchet Predictions

We are getting close to the end of our read aloud book, "Hatchet." Tell me what you know about Brian's character and how he has changed throughout the story. Then make a prediction for how you think the story will end.

Winter Stories

A favorite winter story of mine is The Mitten written by Jan Bret. We read this story to Payton before he goes to sleep at night and he absolutely loves it! Do you have any favorite winter stories? If you do, share which one/ones you like and why.

Nashua River

The book we have been reading this week for our literacy mini lessons is called A River Ran Wild written by Lynne Cherry. Tell me the main idea of this story and then use the internet as a resource to search for more information about the history if the river. Tell me a new fact that you learned from your research.

Letting Swift River Go

Our read aloud book this past week is called "Letting Swift River Go" It's based on a true story about how from 1927-1946 the small towns along Swift River were cleared out and people were forced to move away and find new places to live in order to create the Quabbin Resevoir in Massachusettes.

This same thing story- only different with names- has occured all over the world wherever nearby large cities have powerful thirsts. I have shared with all of you that my family vacations at a lake that was created in the same way as the Quabbin Resevoir and it is called Lake Roosevelt in eastern Washington. I would like you to search for when this resevoir was created and how many people had to leave their homes because of it.

Winter!

The weather is cooling down and school is almost out for winter break. Tell me about some fun things you and your family like to do during this chilly season.

The Circuit

The book we just finished using in our literacy mini lessons was about the life of a migrant child. Tell me why you think the title of the book is "The Circuit" and make a prediction for what is next in Panchito's life. You need to support your prediction with a details from the story.

Mental Math

Solve this problem mentally. Then tell me the answer and how you solved it.

42 x 8

Hatchet

Brian is alone in the Canadian Wilderness. Imagine you were Brian, what would you do if you were him and how would you feel?

Explorers

In Social Studies, we have started to study explorers of North America. Please tell me who your groups explorer is, and what information you have learned so far. I would also like you to use the internet as a resource to learn one new fact about your explorer.

Hatchet

Our new read aloud book is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. We have only read the first chapter but I am already on the edge of my seat. Tell me what you know about the story already. Think about the characters, and the setting. Then tell me your predictions for what is going to happen in the story.

Place Value

In math, we have just started a unit on place value. Please look at the number below and tell me how you would write the number in words. Please also tell me which number is in the hundredths place.

312.459

Star of Fear, Star of Hope

Star of Fear, Star of Hope is the book we are reading right now in Literacy. It takes place in France during Nazi occupation. A lot of you had questions and were wondering more about this time in history. Use the internet as a resource to learn more information about WWII and the Nazi occupation.

First Aid

We are doing a small health unit on First Aid topics that may happen to you. The topics include, broken bones, dust in your eyes, black eyes, chemicals in your eye, bloody noses, insect stings, burns, poisonous plants, and accidentally drinking poison. Please tell me which topic your group is in charge of, and what you have learned about that topic already.

Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day is coming up next friday, November 11th. Your job is to use the internet to help you find out what we celebrate on Veteran's Day, How did this holiday begin, and what can you do in your own community to honor veteran's. Good Luck!

Customary Units of Length

In math we have discussed the customary units of length, such as inches, feet, and yards. Please tell me how many inches = one foot, and how many feet = one yard. Then solve the problem below:

Payton wanted to put up a rectangle poster of Elmo is his room and he wanted to know how much wall space he would need. The poster was 24 inches wide and three feet long. Payton cannot do math yet, so could you please tell him how many square feet of wall space he needs to hang up his Elmo poster.

Biography Presentations

On Monday we all shared our character suitcases with the class. Tell me about your favorite presentations and explain why you liked them so much.

Ongoing Dialogue

If you have any questions for Mrs. Martin or just want to write a quick comment on the blog, this is the place to do that kind of thing.

Big Cats

We have been using a book called Big Cats to practice how to use questioning while reading. Tell me two interesting facts that you've learned about Big Cats.

Questioning

The reading skill we are currently focusing on is called questioning. When you are asking questions, what are some common words that you start a question with? Also, please give two examples of questions you could ask about a book titled "All about Japan".

Area and Perimeter

Currently in math we are studying how to find the area and perimeter of rectangles, parallelograms and triangles. Please tell me the formulas for finding the perimeter and area of all three shapes.

Text Features

In reading, we are studying non fiction text features. Look at this picture and tell me what text features you see.

Measurement

In math, we just started Unit 2 which is focused on measurement. Tell me a few ways you or your family members use measurement in your everyday lifes.

Meet Us!

Let's introduce ourselves. Tell me your name and two things that you like to do outside of school.

Blogging!

Have you ever heard of a blog before? Tell me what you think a blog is and what we could use the blog for in our classroom.