Week of April 13-17, 2009

Friday 4/17/09

• Math 3: Today we took a math test and then played math games on the computer. Homework: Study flash cards over the weekend!
• Language Arts 3/4: We used language arts time to take the practice test in preparation for the Terra Nova tests, which will take place next week. No homework.
• Religion 3/4: We talked about Jesus and the calling of his disciples, and we discussed various professional church workers like pastors, teachers, missionaries, and directors of Christian education. Homework: Everyone should be practicing memory work over the weekend.
• Science 3/4: We continued our discussion on sustainability and traced our feet, to represent the "footprint" we are leaving behind. Next week students are challenged to produce less waste in their lunchboxes, such as using tupperware or other reusable containers, not using plastic silverware, etc. Each day we will tally up how many bad and good things we used in our lunchbox and at the end of the week we'll see who left the biggest footprint!
• Art 3/4: We learned about pointillism from Miss Brooke and then created our own pointillism paintings.

Thursday 4/16/09

• Math 3: Today we learned how to measure line segments using millimeters, and also how to convert centimeters to millimeters and vice versa. There are 10 millimeters in 1 centimeter, so all you have to do is multiply the number of cm by 10 to find the number of mm! Very easy! Everyone finished 114A in class. Homework: 114B, oral facts 114, and fact card practice.
• Language Arts 3: Today we worked with forming compound sentences from two simple sentences using a comma as well as a joining word like and, but, and or. We also reviewed cursive writing with the capital I and J. Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Language Arts 4: We read a piece on the early houses of the colonies and searched for descriptive details within the writing. Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Religion 3/4: We did some memory work and talked about resolved conflicts. Homework: Page 169.
• Science 3/4: We worked with environmental causes and effects, and then had a lesson on sustainability. We will continue this lesson tomorrow as we discuss ways we can produce less waste each day, especially in our lunch boxes!! :)
• PE 3/4: We were outside with Mr. Bretscher today! Thank you, God for a sunny day!

Wednesday 4/15/09

• Math 3: Today we learned how to use the words acute, obtuse, and right to classify angles and triangles. We also ordered triangles according to size. Everyone finished 113A in class. Homework: 113B and 10 minute of practice with fact cards.
• Language Arts 3: Students read a fun story called "Aunt Flossie's Hat," about an older family member who tells stories about each of the many hats in her closet to her neices. It was a good example of the tradition of oral history and keeping memories alive through storytelling. Homework: Spelling words 3x.
• Language Arts 4: We worked on identifying main ideas and supporting details through reading a piece on the Massachusetts Colony. Chronologically this piece took place immediately after yesterday's reading on the voyage of the Mayflower. Homework: Spelling words 3x.
• Science 3/4: We made observations in our bean journals and discussed what is happening to the sprouts. Some students believe their beans are burning from too much sunlight, while others think that their beans have frozen. Some of the beans appear to be growing at least a little bit!
• Social Studies 3/4: We finished our Snapshots of the Census activity and learned quite a bit about the population in Indiana from 1800-1850.
• Scholastic News 3/4: The feature article in today's paper was Earth Day, which we will celebrate next week. In continuing our discussion on saving energy and protecting the earth, today we discussed cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels such as wind power, solar power, and biofuels. We also read an interesting piece about scientists who used Google Earth to locate a hidden forest in Mozambique, Africa and discovered tons of new animal and plant species!

Tuesday 4/14/09

• Math 3: Today in math we learned how to multiply a single digit number by a two-digit number. This strategy will eventually be done using mental math. Everyone finished 112A in class. Homework: 112B and oral facts 112. Also, students are now expected to study multiplication and division fact families for 10 minutes each night.
• Language Arts 3: We journaled about our Easter weekend, took spelling pre-test #29, and read an informative piece on how to research your family ancenstry using oral history. Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Language Arts 4: We journaled about our Easter weekend, took spelling pre-test #29, and read an interesting piece about the voyage of the Mayflower and what life was like for these pioneers. We also looked for clues related to setting in this and other selections. Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Religion 3/4: We did some memory work and then discussed the parable of the prodigal son. Homework: 164-167, memory work on 167. Due Thursday.
• Social Studies 3/4: We took a look at the 1850 US Census and practiced reading tables and charts to answer questions about the census.
• PE 3/4: Volleyball with Mr. Bretscher.