...the end is always bittersweet. This has been a wonderful year with each and everyone of your students. Thank you for the love and support you have shown me as I grew my family and I sincerely hope you felt loved and supported as I cared for your kiddo! Of course I am excited to spend the summer with Llewyn, but I would absolutely have another year with these amazing room 12, soon to be 5th graders!
This week: *Definitely find some time to go by the lost and found! **Moms: If you haven't yet had a chance to help your student find a picture of them with Dad or just of them for Dad, please help them do so by Tuesday!
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2 final weeks of school await us. They are full of fun!
Hello! Here are some reminders about upcoming end of year events at Hoover and a few notes about this week:
Yes I Can! Is our slogan for this month's character trait: Perseverance. And it is a good slogan to keep in mind as we take our last state test, give our country speeches and race across the Oregon Trail.
Upcoming events/reminders:
This week students are giving their country speeches and they have been fantastic so far. I will individually share your students presentation with you on seesaw. We are spending a lot of class time on our Oregon Trail simulation this week. Students will write a diary entry each day about the experience (and they may need to finish it up for homework). This week we will do a science inquiry project on sound waves. Students will explore how sound travels through a paper cup telephone and then make modifications to design a phone which does something else (such as travel around a corner or can have a 3 way conversation). Dictado: The following is this weeks' Dictado: On Memorial Day, we remember those who died fighting for our country. Memorial Day officially began in May 1868, when we honored Civil War soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery by putting flowers on their graves. After World War I, the holiday changed to honor Americans who died fighting in any war. **I personally believe that understanding the origin of this national holiday is an interesting and important topic; but if for any reason you know that this dictado subject will be sensitive for your student, please let me know before Tuesday and I will change the dictado. Thank you for all the kind words, flowers, food and gifts of appreciation!! I love teaching each and every one of your students everyday, and it is certainly icing on the cake to receive so many kind gifts for doing this work I love!! To all the Mom's: We really appreciate you as well! I hope you have a great Mother's Day! (Your student did practice a special Mother's Day dance for you, some will be more excited to share than others, but everyone has some special words to share!) Upcoming Hoover Happenings:
Oregon Trail On Monday students will get into wagon trains and head off on the Oregon Trail! They will have to read and write a lot to move their little wagon trains across the great plains, up and over the Blue Mountains and down the Columbia River to make it to Oregon City! Writing and Speeches Students have finished some very beautiful country books this week. They are in our class library if you would like to check them out. They are working on turning these books into speeches which they will begin to deliver this week. Science This week students will test their engineering skills as we shake their capitol building models in our earthquake shake test. We will also begin learning about waves. By the end of May students will complete their own science inquiry project around the topic of waves. Dictado In this weeks dictado we will practice writing in the style of a diary or journal entry. April 24th, 1847 Dear Diary, My family has been on the Oregon Trail for two weeks. Right now we are camped by the banks of the Blue River waiting to ford its raging rapids. Our caravan must then cross the Great Plains and face the difficult terrain of the Rocky Mountains. I must go now to cook my children a breakfast of slam johns and sowbelly. -Jenny Miller Remember to check out fun pictures of all that has been happening on Seesaw! Have a beautiful spring weekend and fantastic week! Congratulations to all the students in our class who completed wildlife projects and bravely presented them at the wildlife summit! Students learned about their local habitat and became more connected to their home and the species that live here.
Apologies for the canceled field trip to Thompson's Mill last week. We will try to reschedule but it is challenging to get a bus this time of year. I wanted to assure you that the fee for the field trip was for our Brownsville trip, which we did attend. Upcoming important events:
This week students will finish publishing their country books. We will begin turning our country research into formal speeches, which students will present to the class in the coming weeks. Reading and Social Studies: This week we continue to practice nonfiction literacy skills as we learn about the movement West and pioneer's movement on the Oregon Trail. Science In science this week students will complete construction on their earthquake sound Capitol building models. Dictado This week's dictado: Perseverance is a character trait that means sticking with something despite immense difficulties. Settlers on the Oregon trail experienced many hardships, such as the Columbia River, which they had to raft; the Blue Mountains, which had snowy peaks; and the Platt River, which was like mud. The settlers had to believe that it was possible to persevere or all hope would be lost. Teaching points:
This week is busy with our field trips and wildlife summit.
Have a great week!
A few upcoming notes/reminders:
In addition to our wildlife projects we are also working on our civil engineering projects. The wave lab at OSU was a very neat opportunity to think about what real civil engineers do. Students are finishing up their blueprints for this project and starting lay the foundation for their models! Reading During reading we continue to study the Movement Westward in the United States. This week we focus on Missionaries who came west and founded some early communities in Oregon. Writing During writing this week we are working on drafting our country books. This week we will focus on drafting engaging introductions and strong conclusions. Dictado This week's dictado is shorter and focuses on homophones: The guest made a cake for his host. He used flour, eggs, sugar and salt. He guessed about the amounts he needed. He decorated its top with flowers. It’s a beautiful cake he thought. The spring is a busy time with lots of important information coming home and lots of exciting events!
(See what I mean about busy! We'll try to fit in some regular old classroom learning, around all this great stuff!) Science In addition to our wildlife projects we are also working on our civil engineering projects. The wave lab at OSU was a very neat opportunity to think about what real civil engineers do. Students are finishing up their blueprints for this project and starting lay the foundation for their models! Reading During reading we continue to study the Movement Westward in the United States. This week we focus on explorers who made discoveries that drew people to the West like John Colter who "discovered" the Yellowstone National Park region. Writing During writing this week we are working on drafting our country books. We are using all the notes we have collected to write in an informational styles about different country subtopics. Dictado Introduction Kenya is a fascinating country. You might have heard about Kenya’s vast savannahs, the Masai tribe or the Great Rift Valley; but there is so much more to learn! Have you ever wanted to go on a safari to see zebra and giraffe? If the answer is yes, than journey with me through the pages of this book. Teaching points: -Questions -vast : vocab word -zebra and giraffe plural -capitalize a geographical feature -semi colon -possessive s -than/then Remember that Dictado homework on Tuesday and Thursday is to copy the passage. You can always give your student the added challenge of listening to you read the passage and having them dictate it. |
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