Because of Winn-Dixie

This week in Reader's Workshop, we finished our study of Because of Winn-Dixie and its characters.  As we finished the book, we discussed how the main character, Opal, resolved her problems and the lessons that she learned.  The children generated some wonderful lessons learned from this book such as, "love what you've got while you got it; break out of your shell; people can change; be kind to everyone even if they are not to you.  Students took these lessons and made them into "bumper stickers" to put in our classrooms!  Be sure to ask your child about this book.  Did your child enjoy the book?  Who was his or her favorite character?  We will be watching the Because of Winn Dixie movie prior to vacation and will compare the book and film.  The movie is rated PG.  If you are not comfortable with your child watching this movie, please contact your child's teacher and we will find another activity for your child to do at that time.


In math, we finished our geometry unit and began a new unit on fractions and multiplication.  Our first lessons in this unit encouraged us to look for strategies to multiply numbers by eleven and twelve.  We built arrays to represent a multiplication fact, such as 3x11 and then talked about strategies for finding the solution.  As we built these arrays, we noticed patterns in the answers of our 11 facts. Can your child tell you about what we noticed?

In theme, we are continuing with our weather and climate unit.  This week we have started to explore about some natural disasters, specifically hurricanes.  The children have been given an engineering task to built a structure that could withstand "hurricane-like" winds (a high-powered leaf blower).  They have been given some constraints on the materials they can use and the number of windows and doors they need.  We are working with the third grade art teachers on this project.  They have been teaching the children about building structures and the children have been using their art class time to plan and build their structures.  We will test these structures next week!  Ask your child about his or her ideas for a strong structure!

Be sure to check out the upcoming events on our blog.  April and May have become busy months!  If you have any questions, please check in with Deb or Jenn.