Weekly News 12/11/15

3rd graders assimilating an earthquake. Part of their earth science unit. They are studying land forms and rapid changes that impact our earth.











2nd-3rd Grade Explorer News

Some quick news about the week….

Holiday Bazaar

Thank you to all our families behind the scenes of this great Berlin tradition. We have some awesome parents spending a lot of time to make this happen for our bobcats. The kids were very proud of their choices. I’m just not sure how many of them will keep their secrets until the holidays.   

Secret Santa:

Students should bring their books to school wrapped and labeled To:________ and From:______. They should put their name on it. They can bring them in anytime but please have them in by FRIDAY DEC. 18th. I have a safe place to keep them “hidden.” I would like to have a class celebration on either Tuesday or Wednesday Dec. 22 or 23rd. At this time we will reveal our Secret Santas. We will keep an eye on the weather!

Literacy

Westward Ho!

The highlights of the Oregon Trail this week, Chimney Rock, Independence Rock, Fort Laramie, and crossing the Snake River. We’ve definitely gotten a taste for the hardships of the trail. This week we looked closely at the characters from Ranger in Time and their attitudes as they travel. We wrote about who we might be most like and how we’d feel about the events, chores, and daily adventures on the trail.

Book Clubs

Most kids are on to their second or third book in their series. We are mapping out characters and picking out physical and personality traits. Kids are having conversations about characters, plots, and making connections across text.  

Word Study:

Word of the Day: pioneer

Vowel patterns: short a, e

High frequency words: should, give, own, read, while

Science:

Second graders researched turtles and box turtles. We learned quite a few new facts about our class pet. We filled our brain files and took copius amounts of notes from a documentary and books in our classroom. Rusty was at the heart of our research. Of course he came out and we made observations, felt his scales, and noticed some details we had not noticed before.

Meanwhile, third graders started an Earth Science Unit that extends their learning from last year.  We began looking how weathering can cause rapid changes on the earth. We followed a Prezi presentation on landslides,earthquakes, tsunami’s, and tornados. We also learned how volcanoes can change the shape of the land and how quickly and drastically it can occur. We ended the investigation assimilating an earthquake with a plate of marbles, a plate on top, and building with plastic cups. Then our second lesson looked at the slower processes of change, ice, water, acid rain, roots, and animal burrowing.

Math Corner:

Mrs. Singh has a website she is hoping 2nd graders and 3rd graders visit regularly to support their math learning in her class. You can find it on our school website under programs and services.

Notes and Reminders

Dec. 18   Book Exchange books due

Dec. 21   Gifts for Giving

Dec. 22 or 23 Class Celebration (weather dependent)