A Visit From "Batman" and Nearby Nature

This week Barry and Maureen, from the Vermont Bat Center, visited the Esprit Team.  They taught us many interesting facts about bats and shared information about how they help bats at the Vermont Bat Center.  Did you know there are nine species of bats in Vermont, many of which are on the Endangered or Threatened lists?  Ask your child what he/she learned about bats!

A big thank you our Nearby Nature parents who taught us about skulls this week.  We learned that the shape and structure of skulls and teeth are adaptations related to an animal's food and way of life.  We also learned that teeth and eye placement of carnivores differ from those of herbivores, omnivores, or insectivores.  Ask your child what he/she learned about skulls

In Math, we are currently learning about various forms of measurement.  We have been practicing telling time to the minute and have been discussing the difference between "weight" and "mass".  We have been comparing the metric system to the customary system of measurement and learning about a variety of units to measure in both systems.  This week we practiced estimating and finding the mass of a different objects using a pan balance.  We also practiced estimating and measuring liquid volume.  You can support this unit at home by helping your child practice telling time on an analog clock.
During Writer's Workshop we have been learning about speech writing to change the world through our Opinion Writing Unit.  This week we practiced writing about problems in our school community and solutions for those problems.  We also wrote about noteworthy people in our school community.

In Reader's Workshop we are reading this year's Red Clover books and working on comprehension strategies.  Some books we have read so far include Dragon Was Terrible, Ada's Violin, I Dissent and The Princess and the Warrior.  When we are finished reading all of the Red Clover Books we will vote on our favorite.  Ask your child what his/her favorite book is so far.

We kicked off our Forces and Interactions unit this week with a brainstorm of what we know and what we want to know about forces and interactions.  Our first investigation focused on observing and measuring the patterns of an object's motion in various situations to predict future motion.  Students
learned that objects in contact exert forces on each other, that electric and magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that objects be in contact.

We have stepped away from Word Study for a bit while we learn cursive handwriting.  So far, we have learned letters L, E, H, B, F, K I, J, P and R.  As we learn more letters, we will begin writing complete words and sentences using cursive writing.  If you would like to support your child's learning of cursive writing you can encourage him/her to begin to write in cursive at home.
Have a great weekend,
Deb and Jenn