Week In Review 5/28 - 5/31

Sorry for the pause in our weekly reviews, but we have been hard at work! We found some time to share the important happenings with you!

1.  In math we started the Box Factory. We are looking for all the possible box dimensions that will hold 24 items. We have been investigating trying to find all the dimensions. Some mathematicans are finishing up and beginning their proof. On Wednesday, Mrs. Goldstein came in during math. She came around to see what we were doing and we had to explain how we were finding box dimensions. We have been using a lot of multiplication because there are layers, rows, and columns. RB, CV, AA, DS
2. In gym we played volleyball! It is a very hot day! Mr. Bartol and Mr. Ernst are preparing us for field day by having us play the games that we will play on field day. We used to like having gym outside, but now it is too hot! KV, JW, NL
3. We are drafting our historical fiction stories. We have a drafting booklet and we have 3-4 important scenes. In our drafting booklet we have leads, important scenes, and then powerful ending! In our scenes we are trying to include information about the historical era, setting, character's actions, character's personalities, and dialogue. We are trying to teach others about our historical era through our fiction writing. We are also working on showing and not telling, we learned from Cristian's writing that we can stretch out a small moment into exact actions! We began drafting endings today. We are trying to make our endings leave a lasting impression and image. Our endings don't have to resolve the whole historical problem, but it has to resolve the problem our character is facing. Our endings can be happy or sad, but we need to have a satisfying ending for our readers that resolves all problems and ties up any loose ends.  After we draft, we will start to revise and edit. CV, WS, NL, RB, CO, GS
4. In reading workshop, we are in the middle of our social issues unit and we are talking about golden and diamond jots for Big Ideas about themes and lessons. If we have a one or two bulb jot, we have to push ourselves to include more information to make our jots more powerful. We had a partner read our jot, give us feedback, and then revised to make them more powerful. A powerful jot about themes and lessons has a character's life lesson, how this lesson applies to other people in this situation, evidence from the text, and how we can let this change our lives. In our book clubs, we are trying to talk long about one jot and see how much we can talk about this idea instead of skipping over each idea quickly. We have set goals within our club for how much to read and the work we will do each day.AA, CV, AN, MA,
5. We have 14 more days of school left. AC
6. In social studies, we are wrapping up the Southwest region and starting the West next week. We are going to learn about the West region in centers! AA, MS
7. In Spanish, we had a test this week. We had to show how much we have learned in Spanish this year. We are also learning about the weather and letters. Hace calor en escuela!!!!!!! That means it is very hot in school. AN, CV
8. In Joey Pigza, Joey swallowed the key and the nurse understands how he is. She is understanding of Joey, where Mrs. Maxy is not as understanding. Joey trusts the nurse and tells her about his life. Mrs. Maxy says that it isn't good for Joey to eat anything sweet and when they are on the field trip, he is not allowed to have a piece of pie like everyone else. He sneaks away and ends up eating a whole pie, winds up on the top of a barn , and jumps off the roof! AA, CV, AN