Math Fact Celebration

To celebrate the completion of learning our math facts, we had mini ice cream cones for lunch dessert. Each week we focused on a new set of math facts. They did a practice time test on Monday of each week and then the real test on Fridays. Students who had a passing grade, got into a "Math Facts Club" and got to sign their autograph to a poster in the hallway. The posters were a great incentive for the students to work hard to memorize their facts and the ice cream was a special bonus!

Animal and Plant Habitats

We used PebbleGo to look at different habitats and ecosystems. As a class we made a Tree Map of facts learned for each habitat including what it looks like as well as what animals and plants could live there. The students then used the Tree Map to draw picture representations of each habitat along with at least one animal and one plant that could live there.

Garden Scavenger Hunt

We went on a scavenger hunt in the garden to look for various things such as rocks, plants, bugs, and more. The students identified objects as living and non-living. They identified the parts of a plant. They talked about what animals use the garden as a habitat.

End of Year Picnic

Today we had our end of year picnic. Our last day of school is next Thursday but we celebrated a little early. The students played various ball games, hula hooped, blew bubbles, and more. They then huddled up in the shade for lunch.

Field Day

Last Friday our Coach planned a fun Field Day for all of the students. The students rotated through various events and then had three ribbon events. Two of our students got first place in the wiffle ball toss, one got first in the shoe fling, and one got third in the 40 yard dash. All of the students had a great time!

Safari Sunset Art

As a part of our lessons on various habitats and ecosystems, we talked about the desert and what animals must have to survive in the desert. We also talked about grasslands and the need for larger animals to have a wide space to roam. To extend our learning, I taught the students how to paint a sky to look like a setting sunset. We worked on mixing white into colors to make them lighter and then worked on blending the colors to fade into each other. After the paintings were dry, I helped the students trace various animals that would be found in this habitat as well as trees on black paper. They added these silhouettes to the paintings. They turned out fantastic!

Robot Writing

The students wrote papers about what their robots could do if they were real. They described what problem their robot would solve and how the buttons worked. I displayed their writing with a picture of them holding their robot.

Inventors Research Papers

A few weeks ago the students used PebbleGo to research one inventor of their choose. They wrote their facts on a Circle Map. They then used the facts to help them write a research paper. In the computer lab, they typed up their sentences. In class I called them over to the computer one at a time and we edited them together. We then printed a picture of their inventor from PebbleGo to display with their final product.

Garrett Morgan and the Traffic Light

While we were studying inventors, the students used PebbleGo to learn about Garrett Morgan and his many inventions. One of his main inventions that we discussed was the traffic light. We talked about how he saw a problem and came up with a way to solve it. Using a template of a traffic light, the students wrote at least three facts they learned about him.

Robots! Robots! Robots!

To conclude our unit on inventors, the students became inventors themselves. They were asked to bring in two boxes covered in foil. In class they planned and designed their robots and then glued them together with my help. The students were very creative and the robots turned out amazing! The kids are pretty cute, too!

An Awesome Dog

Through one of our Empowering Writers lessons, the students wrote about awesome dogs. They could write about their own dog or another dog. They described what their dog looked like, what it could wear, and what it would say if it could talk. We then had a mini art lesson on how to draw animals using simple shapes such as circles and ovals. They then added details of their choosing to match their writing.