Classroom Updates

Science:
We just completed an exciting unit on Soil and Erosion. We investigated the properties of soil and the "parent" materials that make up soil and its layers. We also investigated soil erosion by observing erosion models made out of soil materials and shoe boxes!

Social Studies:
We began our first social studies unit called "My Community." We learned that a community is a place where people live, work and play together. We will be creating and designing communities this week. Next week we will learn about rural, urban and suburban communities.

Home-School Connection: While driving in the car with your child, help them point out places in our community where people live, work, and play!

Writing:
Quarter 1 objectives in writing focus on reading and writing personal narratives. The students finished writing personal narratives about a long trip they had been on. We made sure our stories had a beginning, a middle, an end and used the words "I" and "we".

On Friday October 22 the class went on a fall walk to observe evidence of the changing seasons outside and around the schoolyard. We used our observations of what we saw, smelled, felt and heard as inspiration for a short personal narrative about our walk. The students created  beautiful sensory images with their words. A great simile was created when J'Lynn compared the crunching of leaves under my feet to the crunching of potato chips!

Fall Festival/ Halloween Parade

An orange letter went home today about our fall/Halloween celebrations to be held on Friday, October 30. Here is some information from the letter about what our day will look like:

In the morning the students will be enjoying special fall-themed reading and math lessons. After our Recess, Lunch and Related Arts, the students will be preparing for the Phelps Luck Halloween Parade! (Students who wish to wear their costumes may bring them to school in a bag labeled with their name. We will be changing into them before the parade). The parade will be at 2:00 and, of course, parents are welcome! After the parade we will be enjoying some treats in our homeroom. If you would like to donate a food item to our celebration, return the bottom portion of the orange letter to your child's teacher. Students who do not celebrate Halloween will enjoy a fun Fall Festival in our Media Center :)

We are Scientists!

We have been enjoying exploring soil in science class! We have investigated soil samples brought into class, discovered how soil materials move through water to make layers and rubbed rocks together to demonstrate weathering and how rocks break down into particles. 

This week we will be learning about soil erosion. We will learn what causes it and what the effects of it are on our earth. We will also be observing evidence of erosion in our own schoolyard.