Fourth grade continued with the visualizing numbers activity. Today they were asked to take a picture of their color-coding and post it to Seesaw with an explanation. After the explanation was posted, I usually asked a follow up question regarding their understanding of the pattern. Being able to explain their mathematical thinking is an important skill on which we will work for most of the year. Problems of the week are designed to help with this as well.
Third grade reading continued their Cinderella reading. Today they spent more time delving into the story to determine the setting – which includes time and place – as well as the conflict, resolution, and climax. We had some really great discussions and some students were reminded that having background knowledge is important when reading new stories. The Islamic version of Cinderella had a reference to hajj and one of that group immediately knew that this referenced Mecca and Saudi Arabia. Looking for tiny nuggets like this within a story is an acquired skill and it’s a struggle sometimes for students who have always read quickly and easily, to be reminded that slowing down and paying attention to the small things is a really important part of reading.
Second grade continued to build 2D shapes. This part of the activity is taking a little longer than expected because, like the fourth graders, explaining their mathematical thinking is difficult. Students can easily build the required structures, but can’t always explain their attributes. We’ll work on this next week.
Fourth grade reading had another wide-ranging conversation about WWII and how it relates to the book they’re reading with Mrs. Rickabaugh. We talked about rules during war, the formation of the United Nations and the Geneva convention. We discussed chemical warfare and we watched a short video that contained an animation of Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen. Students were given the opportunity to walk away, if they chose, but it did really help them understand why it’s considered such a bad thing. One student, who can always be counted on to ask really great questions wanted to know if it was ever the right thing to do the wrong thing. We touched on that for a little bit, but that is one of those questions that will require a lot of time to think about and discuss. We’ll definitely bring that up again for discussion.
Third grade math continued their study of area. While we will wrap this up on Friday, one group is now pushing their understanding of area and perimeter while a few of the other groups are still struggling to understand just how to prove an area. We’ll have a discussion on what they’ve discovered on Friday.
You won’t hear from me on Thursday, as I will be attending the Camp Albemarle field trip with the fourth graders.
