Ecosystems

This week we started a brand new unit in Science, Ecosystems!  We discovered that ecosystems are all of the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a given area, and how they interact with each other.  To start off our unit we broke ecosystems down into their components (soil, plants, water, fish, worms, and grass) and each group of students had one component.  From their, students did a KWL chart where they listed what they Know, Want to Know, and Learned after doing a little research.  We'll put this knowledge to good use next week when we make our very own ecosystems!!!

Fun with Geography

The past week we had a lot of fun with Geography!  We played a matching game to help us remember vocabulary and a puzzle game to help us learn the states surrounding Missouri.  The goals for our unit were to identify and locate regions, located and label Missouri and its border states on a map and locate several key locations within Missouri.  These games helped to make learning these goals fun.  They are now available for students to play as a choice in the afternoons after work is finished.

A Look at Word Study: Part 2 (practice)

After new words have been assigned in word study, students have 2 weeks to practice them.  This practice is done during Daily 5 and the "Word Study" choice.  Every student has a list of things they must do to practice, these can be found on their weekly menu.  After theses assignments are done they may choose from a list of other spelling activities involving their words.  The consistent  practice for two weeks helps them to learn their patterns.

JA in a Day!

Last Friday was loads of fun!  We participated in JA (Junior Achievement) in a day.  Junior Achievement is an organization that specializes in teaching elementary students about economy, business, and the world around them.  Usually, a Junior Achievement volunteer comes once a week for 6 weeks to teach us a unit.  This year we decided to do it all in one day (hence the title. :))  Our unit was called "Our Community."  In it we learned about community zones, ways to make payments, how businesses are run, and different forms of communication.  Our teacher was Mrs. Jennifer Peck.  We had a great time!

Planetarium

We had a WONDERFUL visit to the planetarium today!  The Columbia Public School's Science Department graciously allows each elementary classroom a chance to come visit the planetarium for a presentation directly tied to our curriculum and also a little fun.  The first video was called Microcosm and was all about the cells in our body.  It was a great connection to what we're working on in health.  Next, for a little fun, we watched a video on how astronauts train and took a look a the nigh sky with the planetarium's "Sky Ball."  The students were encourage to show YOU what they know tonight when the stars come out.  A great time was had by all!

Sharing Our Stories

We had a WONDERFUL time sharing our stories with three Prairie Pups classrooms.  They got a chance to listen to some amazing stories and we got a chance to practice reading our stories to an audience that wasn't always the most attentive. :)  It was a great lesson in engaging and fluent reading!  Enjoy some pictures from our travels!