Updates!

We have been a very busy class, taking full advantage of the borrowed computers from the fifth grade! We used the laptops each day to research and create our slideshows about the Iroquois and Sioux Native American Tribes. We are putting on the finishing touches using the two classroom computers, then we will share the slide presentations. After that I will attempt to to post the presentations so you can see the work your child has done in class. This Thursday we will take our field trip to The Mashentucket Pequot Museum which will cap off our Native American Study.
As we were finishing our biography unit and we had the computers in the classroom all day, I thought it would be fun for the students to create a project to show what they learned about the biography subject they chose to read independently. Each student chose one 'digital' project and one 'paper' project. This week we will share Google Presentation slideshows, digital posters similar to the Notability posters we completed earlier in the year, Wordle, word clouds similar to the writing/art project each student completed in September or the final choice, a blog book review with photos. Ask your students how they felt creating with technology. I think they really enjoyed a new way to share what they learned.
We are currently reading books with a clear message regarding social change. Each title focuses on a topic that involves helping more than one person. Examples are City Green, a neighborhood works together to clean up a vacant lot and plant a garden for all to enjoy. Beatrice's Goat, tells a true story about Heifer International and the good work the organization does to support education. After reading the story, we watched a wonderful 60 Minutes news report and compared the style and the way in which the information was delivered. We all noticed that the 60 Minutes report picked up with Beatrice and her life where the story left off.  Soon we will read, A House on Viola Street about the good work Habitat for Humanity does to help build affordable housing. We will also research the organization by viewing the website and listening to some people who have benefited from the program.
In math, we have completed another unit on multiplication with a heavy emphasis on division. Please continue to have your child practice his/her facts. Many students have completed their addition, subtraction, multiplication facts and are working to complete the division facts. (some have completed all!)