Week of May 3

     On Friday Sara Kirby and Margaret McCoy taught us about clouds and weather for Four Winds. We learned what cumulus, cirrus,stratus and thunder clouds are and what weather they stand for. You could ask your child to look at the cloud and make a prediction about the weather.  Thanks Sara and Margaret.
     Next week we have NECAP testing on Tuesday and Thursday.  You should have received a letter from Mrs. Anastasia telling about the tests in your Friday folder.  We have done two practice tests for the multiple choice and short essay and one performance based test called Sled Pull. A performance based test is when you are given materials to do a set investigation.  We have one more practice test to do called Birds, Beaks and Survival.
     On Wednesday 5/15 we will be going by bus to Shelburne Museum. Students need to dress for the weather, bring layers of clothing-shirt and light jacket, lunch, snack, drink and comfortable shoes.
     In the fall, we made symbolic paper monarchs, wrote a message on them in Spanish and mailed them to Journey North. They distributed them to schools in Mexico to take care of for the winter. This helps them to learn about how far the monarchs travel in their migration. We received paper monarchs.  They are from all over the country. Luke entered the data into the computer of where they came from. We will look in a few weeks to see where our paper monarchs landed.
     In math we have been studying geometry.We have used plastic polygon pieces to separate into groups with or without parallels, perpendicular lines, and acute, right and obtuse angles.We also used them to measure angles. We are completing this unit with a test on Wednesday.  We also have been learning how to do long division and what it means to divide.  Our next unit is on fractions.
     In literacy we have been learning about how to find the meaning of words that you don't know. I read students the book The Boy Who Loved Words and we used some of the vocabulary words in this book to practice this skill.  Students have also been reading articles in the magazine Time for Kids and writing summaries.
     In social studies we are still studying about Vermont History. Today we read a play to learn about the NH Grants. We also will be acting out scenes from a book about Ann Story. The drama activities help students to deepen their understanding of what happened in history. I'm also reading the book If You Lived in Colonial Times. Students were shocked to learn that kids back then would eat with their fingers from one common pot in the middle of the table and drink beer instead of water (they thought they drink the water).
     Students have chosen books to read about Vermont history.  They will receive the report guidelines this week. The report is due May 31. There is no project for this report. For more upcoming dates see the blog.
     Students are putting the finishing touches to their biography reports this week and writing a timeline. We started to create the biography puppets today. We will be cutting out the cloth this Wednesday and decorating them next Wednesday. I have a big bucket of cloth, yarn, felt, etc. If students want specific items for their puppet, they should bring them to school.
     As always if you have any questions, write me a note, send an email or give me a call.