End-of-Week Update, 10/10

Cameron and Shaw used teamwork to BOTH earn "celebrity singer" status this week!
We're so proud of their joint efforts to be outstanding - just keep swimming!

What we've been up to:
You'll be astounded at all Room 20 students have been doing in the past week leading up to our Columbus Day long weekend!

In writing, we started brand new personal narratives.  Before moving on, though, we met with buddies who gave us feedback using a personal narrative checklist of everything we've learned so far in writing.  Mrs. Adams gave us lots of advice about our writing, too!  We used all that advice to set an intention (make a goal) for our next story.  We have new writing partners and new stories going!  We learned how to avoid writing "Twinkie dialogue" by adding noisy / quiet tag lines, adding actions with our dialogue, and adding adverbs to show how the dialogue was spoken.  We started our new drafts (lots of us using dialogue leads) and are working on drafting and revising / editing next week!  Stay tuned for an upcoming writing "party" in the next week!

Shaw and Matt setting writing goals!

Isabella and Liam setting writing goals!

Audria and Destiny setting writing goals!

In math, we wrapped up our study of patterns, including geometric patterns.  Check out the photos of us building geometric patterns below!  We learned some new problem solving strategies, including making a table and using drawings to help us keep track of our thinking.  We took our Topic 2 test and tried our best to read / follow directions and check our work carefully before handing it in!  Next week we're starting a brand new topic!

In science, we learned a lot more about weather!  We learned about air masses - types of air masses, and how they are formed.  We also learned about fronts - cold, warm, stationary, and occluded.  We know the symbols and how they are formed!  We learned about the jet stream - a giant "river" of air that blows around the planet and affects our weather (and our flights!)  For "Mix-it-Up Day" with Room 21, we completed a fun activity with Skittles that helped us to see the difference between weather and climate.  Ask us about how Skittles taught us such a sophisticated concept!

In reading, we've been working on asking questions and thinking about what types of questions we're asking as we read.  We've been focusing on asking "thick" questions, but we know it's important to ask clarifying questions when something doesn't make sense.  Some "thick" questions we've been asking have been about characters and their decisions and relationships, the author's decisions, and the overall message of the book.  In The Sisters Grimm, we've been asking a LOT of questions because the plot is getting really complicated!  We can't wait to keep reading next week.

Next week may be a short week, but we have a lot planned!  Be sure to leave a comment for us below!

What's coming up:

• If you haven't signed up for a parent/teacher conference in October, please do so with the Sign-Up Genius link that was sent home.
• Students will need to wear sneakers for both PE and health for the next few weeks.  This is Monday and Tuesday for our class.

End-of-Week Update, 10/3

Room 20 had a blast learning about the Franklin Public Library on Friday!

What we've been up to:
What an amazing, busy, and remarkable week!  This week was full of fun projects, special events, and even a field trip.  Read on about what made this week so special!

On Tuesday, we were finally able to put our puff mobiles to the test!  The Puff Mobile Race was held on Tuesday afternoon and it was a thrilling time.  Our four puff mobiles (see team photos below!) performed well and our teams showed great sportsmanship, cooperation, and engineering enthusiasm!  We had fun, learned about engineering, and even learned about ourselves.  A great time was had by all!

This week was a special week in reading!  Destiny shared a book talk about Cam Jansen, we worked on visualizing plot and characters, and we had a special visitor from the Franklin Public Library come to speak to us on Wednesday.  Ms. Andrews, the assistant director of the FPL, taught us all about the awesome resources we can find online using our library cards.  We were so excited to use our cards at home (with our parents' supervision and permission) and, of course, to use them on our field trip to the library on Friday!

Our trip to the library was awsesome!  We took the bus with Mrs. Merten's class and arrived at the library around 9 AM.  First, Mrs. Rappa from the library taught us about the history of the library.  We learned all about the Ray sisters and how they built the library as a gift for their parents.  We also learned about the Greek architecture and designs that are found all over the library!  We had fun finding the three different types of columns (Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian) as well as the "egg and dart" design around doors, walls, and windows.  After we took a tour of the library, we created a door hanger craft with Miss Farrell's class and then it was time to use our library cards!  We had time to check out books, movies, magazines, and CDs.  Some of us used the "self check-out" counter!  We left with piles of treasures from the library.  Once we got back to our classroom, we had a chance to add to our "Someday" lists by looking at what our classmates checked out.  It was a great way to get psyched about reading!  Check out the photos below.

In science, we built our terrariums!  It was a rainy day, so we had to build them inside, but it was still lots of fun.  Our class and Miss Farrell's class built terrariums together.  We started with a scoop of gravel at the bottom for drainage.  Then we added just enough potting soil, planted plant clippings, and watered our terrariums for the one and only time before sealing the top with a lid or plastic wrap.  Mrs. Adams showed us this super old terrarium that hasn't been opened for 53 years!  Ask us how it's possible (due to the water cycle) for plants to survive in a sealed jar and never get watered.  Fascinating!  Check out the photos below!

This week in math, we worked on patterns - repeating number and shape patterns, tables, and finding the "rule" of different patterns using our math skills.  Our Topic 2 math test is next Thursday (10/9).  In writing, we've been working on finishing up our first personal narratives and we'll be starting new ones next week.  At chorus this week, Audria was named celebriary singer - we were so excited and proud of her!

Way to go, Audria, this week's celebrity singer!

If you weren't at Open House (or didn't see the sign), please subscribe to our blog!  You'll get emails when a new post is up and you'll be able to keep up with the latest Room 20 news.  See you next week!

What's coming up:

• Our Topic 2 math test is Thursday, 10/4.  Use the pink study guide to help your child in preparing for this test at home.
• We have no school on Monday, 10/13 for Columbus Day!
• If you have not yet scheduled a conference for October, please use the Sign-Up Genius link to do so.  Contact Mrs. Adams if you need help!