Happy Thursday!! What a week have had. It has been a fun one. Yesterday was "Back to The Future"Day. We did some activities yesterday surrounding the movie. We started with a bullying discussion. I showed a clip of Classic Bullying by Biff on George McFly. It had all the components: Bully, bystanders, and followers. It had people or adults that could have stopped the encounter. It showed George respond in a joking manner, and when Biff directed his attention to Marty, George then became a follower. We discussed everything that was wrong and how things could have been different. It was a great discussion. Some kids were just plain appalled at the scene. We saw a video clip of 11 things Back to the Future gave to us before 2015. It talked about 11 things in the "movie 2015" that we actually have now. It was interesting. We also compared the 1950's hair and music to the 1980's and present time. They enjoyed that. We visited the "futuristic" room which was full of technology. Kids played with robots, created their own, played games on ipads and used goggles to view apps on phones. The virtual reality rooms on goggles was a lot of fun. You could see kids falling over and spinning around to look at everything. I did it and had to hang on to something as I looked. I felt unstable on my feet. We ended the day by getting into groups or partners and creating Hoverboards, cars, and buildings in a futuristic town. Those that finished are all ready hanging in the hall. As the others complete theirs it will be in the hall also. Some were very detailed and some serious effort was put into them. Some were simple. All of them are great. They did a nice job working together.
Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called :Coming Distractions Questioning Movie". I find this interesting but dry. It points of part of movies that are very "unreal" things and that we should catch them and wonder "why". Like in Action Films, women fight or run in high heels, and car accidents that normally people are trapped or very injured and people in movies get out and run away. It's interesting stuff by story is not presenting it in an interesting manner. We have spent the week talking about verb tenses in grammar, we worked on fact and opinions, and summarizing. This story couldn't have come at a better time. Discussing movies and special effects and having Back to Future Day in the same week really worked out well. The two complimented each other.
Math - We finished chapter 1! We spent Monday and Tuesday working on correcting the tests and starting a prior knowledge page on chapter 2. They worked on multiplication flash cards and played around the world. We need to start pushing the flash cards at home. When a person knows their facts with no problem, learning strategies in multiplication is so much easier. We will be learning several ways to multiply numbers. They are not strategies you learned as a kid. They are very good and helpful. It makes the students understand why they are doing it and why it works. We will take this section at a pace the students can handle. I make sure the students are mastering each lesson before moving on. This is actually my favorite content area in Math to teach. Be patient with them and let me know if there are any problems.
Social Studies - We finished reviewing chapter 2 today and will have a test tomorrow. Please make sure your child is studying the vocabulary on their Peach packet, and their yellow study guide. They will test first thing in the morning. If they review their items right before bed and again as soon as they get up, that will help them perform well on their 8:30 test! We will begin Chapter 3 next week. It is on the United States Economy. Full of great things students need to know but the key word is "full", there is a lot. After Chapter 3 we start discussing each region separately. That is when social studies becomes a lot of fun.
Tomorrow is Spirit Day. Remember your child can pay a dollar to wear sweats if they would like with their jersey or team shirt. The money is used to create baskets for families who go through a tragic time, like when a school has a student die, we send a basket of snacks and water bottles to them for their lounge. We also made a basket for Ms. McKasson and her family when her father was in the hospital. We sent one with Mrs. Levine when she was to spend time in the hospital. If your child doesn't wear sweats and just wants to donate a dollar, we will accept that too. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
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