Plants and a New Novel Unit

Plants
We are enjoying our science unit on plants. We have planted from seeds, stems, and roots so far. Next week we will concentrate on the function of plant parts as we continue to observe and experiment.

Novel Unit
We did very well with our poetry unit. Many of the students are working through their final poetry pieces. For reading the next two weeks, we will concentrate on plot structure, character development, and point of view as we read The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. We have already began our novel unit. Ask your students what they think so far.

Poetry Slam Jam, Writing Outside, Spring Break Presentations

Poetry Slam Jam
We have enjoyed our poetry unit very much. As we read, wrote and used poems, we also studied ways in which authors use literary techniques (hyperbole, idiom, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.) to create vivid images and emotions. The Poetry Slam Jam was a fun way to celebrate what we know.

Writing Outside
On Thursday, we took our writing assignments outside. Students were working on either poetry or realistic fiction. It was a beautiful afternoon and the Spring weather inspired our writing.

Spring Break Presentations 
Some of our students choose the 'create a poster presentation of a book you read' for their spring break bingo options. I snapped a few pictures of their presentations. The others can be seen temporarily on our bulletin board outside of the classroom.

World Culture Presentations, Wax Museum, 2nd Grade Community Project & Spring Break Packets

World Culture Presentations
Thank you to Shan Rolls, Indu Shah, Shamsina Hassan, and Myrian Martinez, for joining our class and sharing your knowledge with us. This first-hand experience was so rich. The students enjoyed the music, treats, slide shows, language and geography lessons as well as the artifacts such as money, clothing, and pictures very much. We appreciate your time.

4th Grade Wax Museum
The 4th Grade classes at SPS created a historical figure 'Wax Museum.' Each 4th grade student dressed up like a famous historical figure and memorized a brief presentation. When we visited, we stood in front of them and heard about their lives. We had a great time listening and learning.

2nd Grade Community Projects
We had many ideas surface for our community project: bake sale, art sale, etc. In the end, we decided to create bookmarks (for free) for children who are in the Children's Hospital in Detroit.  With the mentoring of our art teacher Mrs. Hunsaker we created flower bookmarks. Ms. Rahn, our Fabulous Fives Teacher and her dog Diesel, will deliver the bookmarks on their next visit. The bookmarks will let the children there know that we're thinking of them and hoping for their recovery.

Spring Break Homework Packet
Your child should have brought home a packet for spring break. It is due on Tuesday, April 15th. There will not be a packet going home during the short week of April 14-17. We will have a Wordly Wise vocabulary test on the 17th. Those words were included in the packet as well. Let me know if you have questions or concerns. Enjoy your break!

Parts of Speech Puzzle

Parts of Speech Puzzle
To practice parts of speech in a new way, we took apart and reconnected six parts of speech posters. Students had puzzle pieces on their desk two mornings last week. During our English Language Arts block, they were asked to find their other pieces, study the part of speech, and present that part of speech to the class. We are getting pretty good at this! Students should be able to use and define: noun, verb, adverb, adjective, interjection, and preposition. We also find these parts of speech in our writing and discuss ways to use language to communicate more effectively.

Science and Skype

Science
Our unit on Simple Machines/Balance and Motion has been a lot of fun. We investigated balance and motion using 'twirly birds', ramps and cups, tops, and spinners. Students experimented every day last week with various materials to create simple machines that 'did what they were designed to do.'

Skype
We had a neat opportunity to Skype with our penpals on Thursday. Each student had a chance to talk with their penpal for about 90 seconds (as long as their penpal was not absent that day.) Our penpals go to school in Syracuse, New York. In writing on Thursday we wrote friendly letters back to our penpals. I was so proud of how our letters turned out. It was neat to see them revisit letter writing with a renewed purpose. I am making copies of their letters for their writing folders. They have made so much progress in writing this year.