May Update!

Green Bean Green Houses- Studying Plant Germination

It seems as though we are being reprieved from our long winter with this beautiful weather!  Here's what has been going on and what is coming up next.

Reading-Last week we worked on comparing and contrasting similar themes in multiple texts.  We read two picture books that dealt with African American's living during times of segregation.  The students did a great job of finding the theme which was: friendship overcomes all obstacles.  We also talked about symbolism and how the author used objects to show segregation, such as a fence and a pool.  Students will continue to work on finding similar themes in multiple texts through short readings.

Creating Tidal Pool Creatures

This week week we are discussing the differences between firsthand and secondhand accounts.  We read some journal passages from Christopher Columbus, John Smith and William Bradford, followed by similar passages from Encyclopedias and discussed our prior knowledge about first and third person points of view.  Students are now examining primary sources from the Lewis and Clark expedition and Ellis island and comparing them to secondary sources dealing with the same topics.  They are looking for key pronouns, text structure and focus of each text.

Creating Tidal Pool Creatures

Writing - Before vacation, informative writing was introduced to the students.  Each student made a list of things they were experts in and chose one topic to expand on.  We reviewed very structured ways to begin and end informative writing, mainly dealing with including a "focus statement" in their introduction and using "transition words" to start a conclusion.  We also talked at length about how to organize the middle paragraphs of informative writing using graphic organizers.
This week students selected two tide pool creatures that they wanted to research in preparation for our upcoming field trip.  Students will be writing comparatively about the two creatures and will incorporate much of their background science knowledge about how animals meet their needs in this paper.  All students have been given their Google accounts and have been actively using them to work on their papers.  We will continue to focus on informative writing and comparative writing for the remainder of the year.

Creating Tidal Pool Creatures

Math- We finished our unit on customary and metric measurement of solid objects and began our brief unit on capacity.  It is important for the students to understand solids and liquids are measured differently.  Capacity strictly deals with the measurement of liquids, while using feet, inches, yards, centimeters, millimeters, meters, etc. deals with the measurement of solid objects.  Students also need to be sure to label their answers.   After this unit on measurement we will be moving on to our final unit of geometry, primarily dealing with different quadrilaterals and how to measure angles using a protractor.

Creating Tidal Pool Creatures

S.S.-After a long break from Social Studies to prepare for Science testing, we are back on track.  Students will be quizzed on the Midwest states and capitals this coming Thursday May 14th.  Students are also working on learning about the landforms, climate, people and living and working in the midwest.  We are including literature about Lewis and Clark in our readings.  

Science- As you may have heard through talking with your child we spent the weeks leading up to Science testing preparing the students by reviewing science concepts they have learned throughout the years.  The students conducted experiments to practice their inquiry skills and work on their science writing.  Students taught each other various concepts through "mini lessons" and practiced their test taking skills.

Creating Tidal Pool Creatures

Seeing as our main focus concepts for science have to be covered before testing, we are able to incorporate some extra science through our reading and writing lessons.  Students are currently researching tidal pool creatures and will move on to studying the Rainforest until the end of the year.

Upcoming Important Dates


June 10th Fieldtrip #1  URI Bay Classroom Narragansett Salt Marsh  9am-3pm
June 16th Fieldtrip #2  Smith Appleby House Smithfield  12pm-3pm


All pictures are of the students creating a creature that could survive in a tidal pool using odd materials.  Each material they used had to have an adaptation that helped the animals meet their basic needs, which they presented to the class.