We continue march-ing ahead in ELA and social studies! May will be here before we know it! PATRICIA POLACCO & THEME Patricia Polacco is a beloved picture book author. Her picture books might not be what you think of when you think of picture books, though. She writes about a lot of meaty, important topics. We spent a couple of weeks exploring her books and learning about finding the themes in a story. Some topics she covers are: dyslexia, family traditions, acceptance of others, bullying, slavery. So, lots of thinking and great themes in her books. IDITAROD FUN! America's "last great race" begins on Saturday, March 5! We have spent the week learning all about the Iditarod and the Jr. Iditarod so that we can follow along as these amazing mushers race each other from Wasilla-Nome, Alaska! Students have each chosen a musher to follow and will eagerly check standings each day. You can follow the race yourself at: http://iditarod.com. Next week, we will begin a novel study, of the book Stone Fox. While it doesn't take place during the Iditarod, Stone Fox does entail a dog sled race...between a little boy and a very large man! SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATE We continue to march through time as we explore Ohio's history. Students were fascinated to read and watch videos about the War of 1812, especially the all important Battle of Lake Erie. Labeling maps of the US in 1800 and discussing the differences in each region was another task. It's amazing to think that, at one point in time, Ohio was considered "the west". Students are always intrigued and, quite frankly, appalled, by our study of the plantations of the south and the practice of slavery. Our focus is really Ohio's part in the Underground Railroad. Students spent time exploring Kids Discover magazines about the Underground Railroad and recorded their new learning on post its. We will also read many stories about the brave souls who ran the Underground RR and the lives that were saved because of their bravery. FIELD TRIP PROJECT DUE: APRIL 22, 2016
(it'll be here before you know it!) http://aimoutoftheballpark.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/5/8/10585727/field_trip_project_guidelines.pdf
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAnne Kenney Archives
May 2016
Categories |