Forces and Interaction

We had a great four-day week on Team Esprit!    

Our new science unit continues to move along! Miss Niles' class completed two investigations with magnets, focusing on what happens when magnets interact with paperclips and discovering if magnetic force can work at a distance. These scientists did a great job following the scientific method, making predictions, collecting data, and drawing conclusions. Miss Deb's class completed an investigation about patterns of motion. They built a variety of wheel-and-axle systems and observed what happened when they rolled them down a ramp. They discovered that they can change the motion of wheels rolling down ramps by changing the size and placement of the wheels they use.

We continue to read Red Clover Books this month!  Ms. Deb's class read Frankencrayon and Penguin Problems and created fun, animal cartoons and some great crayon drawings! Miss Niles' class read Daniel Finds a Poem and Ada's Violin and crated haiku poems about nature and instruments made from recycled materials.  We are really enjoying these books!  Has your child found a favorite yet?

In writing, we are working on our persuasive speeches either about a problem in our school or community or a speech that recognizes a person or place as being important or notable.  Last week we worked on creating a strong thesis and having reasons and examples to back up our opinions. This week we talked about ways to make our persuasive writing more convincing.  One way is talking directly to the audience.  This can be done by using phrases such as, "I know you might you be thinking...", "Let me explain...", or "Have you ever wondered...".  What has your child started writing about?

During math, we continued to learn about measurement and used our knowledge to solve story problems.  We then turned our attention to fractions.  We folded paper into rectangles and labeled them with fractions and used those fractional pieces to compare and order fractions from smallest to largest.  As we worked, we realized that the larger the number of people sharing something, the smaller the share!
 
Have a great weekend!