Week in Review April 2- April 5

1. We had an assembly this morning about folk music. We listened and learned about this type of music. The person who came in was previously here in the beginning of the year and played the fiddle. We learned that a lot of the music was played a LONG time ago... like 500 years! RB, FH, GS
2. In gym we started something new called Alligator Island.  We went on a rope and swung to the mat on the other side. If we touched the floor, everyone has to go back to the end of the line and do it again until everyone makes it across to the mat. Hayden had so much fun that he fractured his growth plate :( We are hoping he has a speedy recovery! We all had to work together to help one another get to the mat by grabbing their hands or leg. RB, AA, NL, HP, HS, CV
3. In writing workshop, we are writing any last poems that we may want to publish. We are also working on eliminating stale words from our poems. We are going to celebrate our poems by having a Poetry Palooza in class. AA, NL
4. In science we just finished an assignment where you attach a string to your vehicle. There are washers attached to a paperclip. We are timing our vehicles to see how fast they will go. We have to log what the times were and we have to do it 5 times. We use different colors to log our times. We have to figure out what our average time is. AA, HS
5. In math, we had a gallery walk and looked at other mathematician's proof. We commented on their strategies and looked for similiarities and differences. After our gallery work, we started creating a combination chart. We have a graph paper and we are trying to prove how many different fence lengths we can make using 6 foot pieces and 8 foot pieces of fence. WS, RB, MA
6. In reading workshop, we are continuing to read in book clubs. We have been talking about our books within our clubs. Miss Sproch joined one of the book clubs and talked about the book with us and it was a lot of fun. Miss Sproch is also joining another group today! We set new goals for our reading because our original goals were set too high and we were speeding through our books. We now have a more realistic goal that will help us to read deeper and jot down all of our thoughts. We are thinking about our character's timeline (personal timeline) and historical timeline. For example, in WWII people are being sent to concentration camps while our characters are struggling with having enough electricity. This shows the impact of the war not only on the Jewish, but also everyday people.JW, AA, AC
7.  In our read aloud, Number the Stars, Annemarie is worried about the soldiers taking over Denmark. They have started shutting down stores because some of the store owners are Jewish. There was a German sign on the button shop store and this is important because the Germans are starting to really take over. Annemarie's family is worried and nervous for the Rosens... we think they might be Jewish. Peter came to bring the girls seashells and we think they are going to tell them information about where the Hirsch family has gone. This was unusual for him to come because there was a curfew in Denmark and people were not allowed to go out after 8 pm, so this must be important! We realize that during WWII people react to this war in different ways. For example, Kirsti thinks that the Hirsch's went on vacation to the beach while Annemarie replies sarcastically, "Yeah, and they brought a basket of pink frosted cupcakes too!" This shows that Kirsti is young, clueless, and innocent, while Annemarie is responsible, understands what is going on and is growing up quickly! DS, AC, RB, GS, KC, AA, MW
8. In social studies we are still collecting information for our travel articles. We will finish them up hopefully before break. CO
9. We had a Safe Talk this week. They talked about being aware of strangers and their tricks. They did a lot of plays for us and showed us how to respond to different situations. For example, they showed us a play about a kid getting bullied on the bus. The next play was about a kid getting bullied and his friend standing up for him. This taught us to stick up for our friends and we are stronger in numbers. We also got a chance to take part in the plays. We learned that we have the right to be Strong, Safe, and Free. We also learned to not let other people make us feel uncomfortable and speak up, and lastly never get too close to a stranger. HA, GS, AA, FH
10. Miss Sproch started something new... instead of the model citizen chart there is something called "The Board." If you call out or are not listening with attention or something else you may find your name on the board! HP