Snow and Cold Weather Fun!

During the month of January we had many days off from school, but that didn't stop us from making the most of the time when we were together.  We did lots of learning about how snowflakes are formed and learned about states of matter while studying the life cycle of a snowman.  We also practiced looking for, identifying, and using non-fiction text features.  Action verbs and transition words were also incorporated into our writing.

After reading "Sneezy the Snowman" who is constantly trying to get warm, we described how we like to get warm during cold winter days and made some cute snowman faces to help display the writing.

Below are some great "action" pictures with descriptions:

As a follow-up to our study of how snowflakes are formed (see the previous blog), we dove into learning about "states of matter" and used science vocabulary to explain to a melting snowman why he/she shouldn't be sad.  We actually watched a "mini" snowman melt right in our classroom! Once it was in liquid form I heated it up and we watched the "snowman" turn into a gas and vaporize into the air of our classroom.  The boys and girls were amazed that they were breathing in their snowman!

Next, we completed a booklet to review the vocabulary.

 Here are some pictures of our melting snowman:

 Then, everyone completed the following "life cycle" activity:

Last month, some of our readers worked on writing about various processes they chose to read about.  They designed a "flow chart" to describe their topic, practiced what they were going to say to a peer, and then, presented their project to all of their classmates.

 

In math we have been learning a variety of addition strategies.  The boys and girls always enjoy practicing by playing math games with their friends!  Here some of the games:

Next, we will be learning about President Lincoln and President Washington, Washington, D.C., the White House, President and Mrs. Obama.  Of course, there will be a Valentine's Day party on Friday!  Until next time!!

Happy New Year 2014!

Happy New Year everyone!  We were all glad to be back in school after an extended break due to the cold and snow.  Most all of our reading and writing has been related to just those topics!  Here is a brief summary of the last couple of weeks:

To start off we read a book about a little family who lived in a snow globe.  I also brought in a couple of my snow globes from home to show the kiddos.  The students then used a graphic organizer to map out their stories and wrote what they would do if they lived in a snow globe. Everyone made a "snow globe" to illustrate their story.  

Using good word choice has been a "Six Traits of Writing" topic we have really been working with and so, we are always collecting interesting adjectives and verbs to use in our writing. We used some of these words in our writing last week. The boys and girls each wrote about a favorite winter day and illustrated their writing.

 

 

We learned about "Snowflake Bentley" a man who photographed snowflakes.  

We also looked at many wonderful pictures of snowflakes on the internet.  Here are some examples:

 

The following day we read this book that tells all about how a snowflake is formed.  The kiddos were amazed that in the middle of every flake there is a "speck" of either dirt, ash, or salt!

After reading, we practiced using "transition" words as we wrote about the formation of a snowflake and then illustrated it with a diagram.

We looked at salt and sugar crystals with magnifying glasses, drawing what we saw. 

  

Then, everyone wrote their name with salty water and we were amazed at how the crystals formed as the liquid evaporated.

For some more excitement, we grew some green and purple crystals from packets sold at the local dollar store.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we learned a poem titled "Freedom, Freedom" and read books about his life. We also read about Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges.

  

The students used inference to label pictures of how Ruby was feeling in various situations.  Then, they practiced giving reasons or evidence to support their opinion. 

In math we began taking one minute timed tests to build fluency when adding and subtracting.  We have also been spending much time practicing with "missing number" problems, as well as, true/false equations.  All along the way we have been working on strategies for addition and subtraction.  We played many games as we practiced math skills.

Next week will be another short week jam packed with lots of fun learning!  Until later!